


Haat, ijaa, haa'it

by wanderingjedihistorian (RangerJedi67)



Series: Playing in the Soft Wars Sandbox [27]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Bant is an angel and deserves more recognition, Cody being a badass, Cody wants a family with Obi-Wan, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family Feels, M/M, Obi-Wan worries a lot, Shebse gonna shebse, Star Wars AU - Soft Wars, The Jedi just want to help people, The Senate being assholes is a threat to that, brothers being brothers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:35:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,528
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26325757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangerJedi67/pseuds/wanderingjedihistorian
Summary: Now that Rex has a child, Cody can't deny his own longings for one. Obi-Wan is Home and they are building their future.But the Senate is a problem for the Jedi and that means they are a problem for Cody's family. Kote has never been one to back down from a challenge.
Relationships: CC-1138 | Bacara/CT-7567 | Rex/Kit Fisto, CC-2224 | Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi, CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker
Series: Playing in the Soft Wars Sandbox [27]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1725601
Comments: 104
Kudos: 365
Collections: Open Source Soft Wars





	1. Plans and Desires

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [We Have You, We'll Keep You](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25205032) by [evilkillerpoptarts](https://archiveofourown.org/users/evilkillerpoptarts/pseuds/evilkillerpoptarts). 
  * Inspired by [Your Battles are Mine, My Victories are Yours](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26133550) by [wanderingjedihistorian (RangerJedi67)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RangerJedi67/pseuds/wanderingjedihistorian). 



> Title:  
> Haat, ijaa, haa'it - Truth, honor, vision - words used to seal a pact
> 
> When Cody gives his word, he keeps it. The Vode and their Jedi know that. The Senate will learn.
> 
> This starts around chapter 12 of Evilkillerpoptarts' story We Have You, We'll Keep You.  
> It starts before, continues during and after my story Your Battles are Mine, My Victories are Yours.
> 
> Thanks to Project0506 for letting me use Blockade!

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Shel’ya’s arrival changed many things. Rex’s distressed comm call about Kit and the Jedi likely signaled a start to a very busy day off for Cody. He had several calls to make, though he wasn’t sure how many he could complete before Rex and Kit arrived. He started with Blockade.

“Alor, is everything alright?” The younger man asked.

Cody rarely called outside of their scheduled talks. They were both busy men. 

“I’ve had some disturbing news brought to me about the state of affairs between the Jedi and the Senate. What do you know?” The Vod’alor asked.

“You’re not going to like this, sir,” Their Senate Representative told him.

Cody sighed.

“I’ve already accepted that.”

“Here’s what I can tell you…”

CWCWCWCWCW

Kit’s further revelation about the state of affairs between the Jedi and the Senate made Cody’s blood boil and made Obi-Wan feel guilty. It needed to be remedied. His initial plan after Rex’s comm involved making a few inquiries with various Senators who were their allies. But after Kit’s breakdown when they came over, Cody reformulated his plan. He was going right to the top. 

“Good day, Chancellor Organa,” Cody said as the call connected. 

That would tell the other man this was an official call and not a friendly one. 

“Good day, Vod'alor. How are you today?” Bail asked pleasantly.

It wasn't quite the man's Formal Politician Voice, but it also wasn't his Friend Voice.

“Some concerns have been brought to me about the Senate's treatment of the Jedi. I had been under the impression that reforms were either already in place or were in the works on that,” Cody said, letting just a hint of disapproval color his tone.

The other man sighed heavily.

“Do you want my response as Bail or as the Chancellor?” 

Cody frowned. He didn’t like the sound of that but wasn’t exactly surprised by it either.

“Let's start with the official answer.” 

He needed to know _exactly_ how furious he needed to be.

“Officially, I note your concerns but assure you the relationship is under formal review and changes will come. The matter is in a Senate Committee at this time,” Bail said, voice neutral and face blank. 

Cody tried not to scowl. The completely unsatisfactory answer wasn’t a surprise, but it didn’t mean he wasn’t irritated by it.

“And your answer?”

He wanted to know how much of an impact this matter would have on their relationship, both personal and professional. Everything about Bail’s demeanor changed with the question. He slumped ever so slightly in his chair so that his posture wasn’t as stiff. He rubbed a hand across his forehead in obvious annoyance. It was very telling. Bail wasn’t happy either. 

“I've been trying to get these stubborn karking bastards to reform our relationship with the Order since I was made interim Chancellor. I let this get set aside for the Republic Constitution work the last few years and I admit, with hindsight, that I shouldn’t have done so. I would have had more ability to keep a hand on the process before. Now I’m Chancellor under the new constitution and part of that constitution limited the powers of the Chancellor. I agree with those limits, for obvious reasons. But they do mean I can't force the committee to do what I want. But what I can do, and have done, is give the reform committee a deadline. They have another two and a half months to bring a proposal forward or I will dismantle the committee. I honestly hope they fail because I have been informed that they aren't working with the Jedi the way they should be,” Bail explained, his frustration evident in his tone. He paused before continuing, “I don't suppose I could interest you in coming to Coruscant and berating the Senate committee into compliance? Half of the Senate _is_ still terrified of you.” 

Cody didn't even try to hold back a grin. He knew that and it amused him to no end. He tried not to make use of that often because he knew it would create grudges, but some circumstances simply called for it. And this? It was certainly one of them.

"Considering the stress this is putting on my husband, who now feels guilty for stepping back, as well as what’s it's doing to two of my brothers and their partners, I'd be happy to pay a visit to the Senate."

"Excellent. Let me know your travel details once you have them, as I’m sure this sort of visit will take some time to organize. And we'll make sure to tell Padme. She’ll want to be here for this too if she can," Bail said with a vicious grin. He added, “Make sure you wear The Official Outfit. You’ll look very official and intimidating that way.” 

Cody snorted.

“I have a few other calls to make, but I should know by tomorrow when I can expect to arrive,” He said with an amused smile. “And of course, you’d have opinions on my fashion choices.”

“I assured Ponds that I would keep an eye on your fashion if I was around and he wasn’t.”

It was a near thing, but Cody resisted the urge to roll his eyes. 

“Of course, you two have an agreement like that. I expect no less. I assume Padme and Sabe are also involved?”

“Someone has to look out for your wardrobe.”

Cody was chuckling to himself as he disconnected the comm. He debated who his next call needed to be.

CWCWCWCW

“Sir, what’s got you working on your day off?” Thire asked as he answered the holocall.

“We need to begin preparing for a trip to Coruscant. I’ll be finalizing details with the Chancellor tomorrow after I speak with the Jedi Council, but I want to be ready to leave within the next few days,” Cody told him.

Thire was immediately on alert.

“Has something happened?”

Cody smiled reassuringly.

“Nothing like that. I just need to go raise some hell with the Senate and I need to do it sooner rather than later.” 

The former Guard relaxed.

“I’ll begin organizing your security details. How long a trip?” The other man asked, already shifting into a more relaxed but still professional planning mode.

Officially, Thire was head of Cody’s security detail. A detail Cody _still_ insisted was unnecessary, but he was overruled every time he mentioned that. Unofficially, Cody knew good and well that Thire kept Rex apprised of everything. No matter what was happening or how many branches of his security company he was running, Rex _always_ was there when Cody left Concord Dawn on official Vod’alor business. Cody’s vod’ika didn’t try to interfere with any of the security measures and he never tried to assert any kind of authority over them, but he was absolutely aware of every step taken where Cody’s security was concerned. It was both endearing and annoying. 

“Just a few days on planet, I think. And it may need to come to a very abrupt end,” Cody admitted.

“I haven’t had enough caf for this conversation,” Thire lamented, looking down at his mug with a woeful glance.

Knowing this was just the start of the headaches he’d cause in the next tenday or so, Cody mentally promised that he would make it up to him later with some of that fancy Yavinese caf that he knew the man favored.

“The Senate will do what I want, or I’ll immediately steal the Jedi Order,” Cody said with a grin.

“Kark. You aren’t kidding about raising hell. I’m going to need so much caf the next few weeks.”

Cody was genuinely surprised by the lack of “kriffing Shebse” added to the end of that statement. It seemed to be a favorite among the former members of Guard.

“And probably alcohol.”

Cody knew _he_ was desperately going to be wanting large quantities of it. Not that he actually _would_ indulge since he needed to be sharp for what was to come. 

“You know, it's Zhellday. You’re only supposed to do crazy things like this on _Taungsday!_ ” Thire groaned.

“I’ll make the Senate aware of your preferences so they can misbehave on your schedule from now on,” Cody teased.

“Kark you kindly, Alor.” The actual salute followed the words.

Cody snickered at the murmured “Thorn got it easy by going with Blockade” as the comm disconnected.

He really was going to owe the other man a lot of caf before this was over. Maybe he should preemptively order an entire crate. Shipping from Yavin took a while.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Cody went to the kitchen to grab some more caf before making his next call to start discussing the ships they would need for this plan. To his surprise, Rex was still there.

“If you aren’t ready to head home yet, I wouldn’t mind your help sorting out details for all of this,” he offered, knowing that sometimes his vod’ika needed to just keep busy. “I’ve already talk to Thire, but my next call is Odd Ball.”

The blond was already nodding.

“After we talk to Odd Ball, our next call should be my boys on Coruscant. We’ll have them work with Thire on security for this little project of ours,” he said.

“Sounds like we have a busy afternoon ahead of us.”

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Late that afternoon, Cody allowed himself to take a break and go see the Littles. After all, it was Zhellday and he would miss the next two weeks with this trip to Coruscant. He hadn’t known how much he needed the break until he got there.

On his way home to have latemeal with his husband, he saw he had a comm message from Rex.

_You still have to explain Nova restrictions to Kit._

Cody sighed. He had agreed to do that after all. He quickly sent his reply.

_I’ll come over and talk to him later this evening. I promised Obi-Wan I’d be home for latemeal._

It took barely a minute to get a reply.

_I’m just getting home myself, so that works._

Cody smiled.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

“You have something on your mind, but you aren’t sure how to bring it up,” Obi-Wan observed.

They were enjoying latemeal on their back deck as the sun went down. It was the end of the day on a day where Cody was usually relaxed after visiting the Littles. But he seemed preoccupied instead. Obi-Wan was certain the morning’s events were involved but he also got the feeling there was something else. Maybe something had happened that afternoon that he wasn’t aware of.

“We’ve talked about adopting,” Cody said a long moment later.

They had, many times. But it was always in the abstract. The vague way they spoke of anything that might happen “after”. But “after” had come and Obi-Wan was Home. They had been married just over a year and some of those abstracts had become very real. But that didn’t mean that all of them had or would. Cody really wanted this one to be on the list of things made real, but he needed to know where Obi-Wan stood on the reality of children. It had been on his mind a lot these last weeks. Since Hondo handed him Shel’ya. Since he handed her over to Rex and Bacara and Kit made a beeline across the galaxy to be with them. Cody knew now how badly he wanted to raise a child (or maybe even more than one) with Obi-Wan.

“Cody, I love you. And I do want a family but now that I know what's been going on with the Jedi and the Senate, I can't in good conscience stay on Concord Dawn so much when others are suffering because of it. Especially now. Kit has a new baby, he deserves to be able to be here with her,” Obi-Wan said, voice sad and heavy. 

Cody was emotionally torn in so many directions. Fury at the Senate for taking advantage of the Jedi. Anger at the Council on Coruscant for not telling them about this sooner. Regret that he hadn’t realized something was wrong when Kit’s visits were interrupted so frequently. Overwhelming love for this man who was constantly so willing to sacrifice for the good of others.

“If that wasn’t so much of a problem? If you didn’t have that worry, what would you say?” Cody asked gently.

He needed to know what Obi-Wan genuinely _wanted_ , not just what he had told himself he would accept. It was a vital difference. If the answer was no…Cody was prepared to deal with that, but he couldn’t deal with uncertainty on this subject any longer.

“I would ask if there was a specific child you had in mind or if this was just a general discussion,” Obi-Wan admitted. “Because I do want to raise a family with you.”

This hardened Cody’s resolve. He would make this right if it meant taking on the Senate single handedly.

“There’s a Little I had in mind. I’d like you to meet him. I will fix this situation, Obi-Wan, I promise you. Kit _will_ get the time to be with his family. I _will_ make sure of that. You don’t have to sacrifice your happiness for him to have his.”

Obi-Wan wanted to believe that Cody really could fix this. He wanted to believe they could have this too. He just didn’t want to get his hopes up.

And yet.

There really weren’t many things that Kote the Vod’alor couldn’t do when he was determined, and this was an issue that was both personal and professional for him. Obi-Wan wouldn’t put it past his husband to take on the entire Senate by himself.

“What’s his name?” Obi-Wan asked softly.

“His name is Aranar,” Cody said with a fond smile.

“‘Defend’, that’s an interesting choice. Tell me about him?” the redhead prompted.

Obi-Wan could feel the love that Cody already felt for this child radiating in the Force as the dark-haired man thought of the little one. He wanted to know more about the child who made such an impression. Obi-Wan knew that his husband loved all of the young Vode, but this was clearly different.

Cody set his fork down as he considered what to say.

“He’s rather quiet and shy compared to most of his agemates. It’s how I got to know him. He seemed to be by himself a lot when I visited so I wanted to see if he needed more support coming out of his shell or if he was just the type that needed more quiet time. Once I realized it was more of the latter, I made a point of spending a bit of one on one time with him when I visited. He’s so inquisitive. He has a bright mind and is eager to learn anything you are willing to take the time to teach him,” Cody paused before admitting, “I helped him choose his name. But that story can wait until after you’ve met him.”

He had spent nearly the entire hour that afternoon with the boy. He had realized that Cody was stressed and upset, so he had come up to him with a book in hand and asked Cody to read to him. Aranar had cuddled close and practically radiated happiness and contentment as Cody read aloud. A few other Littles had gathered around to listen, but they mostly cuddle piled with each other rather than Cody or Aranar. The sweet, earnest comfort had forced to the forefront the desire that Cody had been trying to ignore for so long. He wanted to adopt the boy. He wanted Aranar to be his son.

“I suppose meeting him wouldn’t hurt.”

Cody smiled.

“No, it wouldn’t. I will get things resolved with the Senate, but it might take some time. It wouldn’t hurt for you to start getting to know him in the meantime.”

Obi-Wan looked down at his plate.

“What if you can’t get the Senate to cooperate?”

Cody grinned an absolutely feral grin that most sentients would be terrified of.

“I stole the GAR. The Jedi would be easy in comparison.”


	2. Important Meetings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans are made for the Coruscant trip and a very important First Meeting is had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts, Shira and Tessadoesthings for enabling and betaing!

CWCWCWCWCWCW

Cody had a loaded schedule that Benduday. 

He had a call scheduled with the Jedi Council that morning as well as a meeting with Odd Ball to hammer out the last details of which ships they would take just after midday and a meeting with Thire and Rex late that afternoon to check on the status of security preparations. He just hoped the Jedi Council wasn’t a hard sell on this plan. He wouldn’t kidnap them against their will, but he had no problem playing dirty to get them to agree.

“Thank you for making time for me on such short notice,” He offered courteously when the comm call to the Jedi Council connected.

It was a call Kit was not present for and that was on purpose. Cody had intentionally scheduled this for a time Rex confirmed Kit would be with Bant, his mind healer, so that he wouldn’t feel pressured to try to attend.

“Of course, Vod’alor. How may we assist you?” Mace Windu replied in kind.

“It has been brought to my attention that the relationship between the Senate and the Jedi has not been reformed,” Cody stated.

The silence from the other end of the call was deafening. 

“We have the situation in hand,” Mace said bluntly.

“Do you?” Cody asked, just as a frustrated Obi-Wan interjected, “You most certainly do not!”

“The Jedi on Concord Dawn have a lot on their hands,” Plo offered reasonably.

“Not so much that we can sit idly while the rest of you are run ragged!” Obi-Wan countered. 

“Master Kenobi,” Cody interrupted. “There will be time for that particular discussion later.” 

Obi-Wan schooled his features into his Negotiator mask. 

“Quite right, Vod’alor. This is about the Senate.” 

“What do you propose to do, Vod’alor?” Depa asked.

A part of her had wanted to delay Caleb’s Knighting as long as possible solely to protect him from the whims of the Senate for however long she could. Eventually she had to concede that he was ready and his Knighting had been several months prior. She worried for her former Padawan, and all of the young Knights who were struggling to find their footing. If there was a way to get the help of the Vode, she was certainly open to it.

“I’ve already spoken with Chancellor Organa,” Kote explained. “He has invited me to address the Senate on this matter. It would carry more weight if they knew there would be consequences to refusing to listen to me.” 

“What kind of consequences?” Mace asked. 

His face was an impassive mask that was difficult to read over a holocall.

“I’m willing to abscond with the Jedi Order just like I did the Vode,” Kote said bluntly.

Had it been anyone else, the call would have devolved into total chaos. But the Jedi Council was too reserved for that.

“How would that work? It would be a difficult undertaking,” Plo pointed out.

“I would ask you to begin preparations now, so that if it did become necessary to remove the Jedi from Coruscant, it could be done quickly. We arranged to move millions of Vode. We can handle the logistics of moving the Jedi with ease,” Cody explained. He paused, then added, “I want to be clear. I will not force you to do this. I will not _kidnap_ the entire Jedi Order. But I do want you to consider my offer.”

“We’d be fools to do anything else,” Depa said without hesitation.

“I agree. We have requested changes from the Senate, but they will not act. It is time for a more decisive action,” Plo agreed.

Mace looked pensive. Yoda looked resigned.

“The right path, this is,” Yoda said after a long moment.

“I agree,” Mace said with a nod. “We cannot continue as we have been. Something needs to change, and the Senate will not listen to us. Vod’alor, we accept your offer.”

CWCWCWCWCWCW

“I know you’re frustrated that they were trying to deny that there’s a problem,” Cody soothed after the call ended.

“I am. And I _will_ be having words with them. Aayla and Shaak will too. We are capable of taking care of our duties here and still doing missions. Especially if it means easing the burdens on others a bit, even once things are more manageable,” Obi-Wan said, leaning heavily against his beloved.

Cody pressed a kiss to his forehead. 

“Come on, let’s go find something for midmeal. We both have busy afternoons planned.”

“Sensible as always,” Obi-Wan said with a rueful grin.

“Someone’s got to be the sensible one,” the clone teased.

Cody wanted to keep the topic of conversation pleasant while they ate.

“Aranar’s batch has a free day every Primeday. They have no lessons, just fun activities all day,” He explained. “And since we don’t leave for Coruscant until late afternoon, I thought maybe we could have firstmeal with him?” 

Obi-Wan smiled. 

“I think firstmeal sounds like a perfect time for an introduction.” 

“Excellent. I’ll let his caretakers know. We’ll keep it low stress this first time, just let you two start to get to know each other,” Cody said with a smile. 

He genuinely hoped Obi-Wan and Aranar got along. He wanted them to be a family so badly. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if they didn’t like one another. 

CWCWCWCWCWCWCWCW 

After his meetings with Rex, Thire and Odd Ball, Cody was ready for a break, but he had one more call to make before he could even consider taking one. 

“You work quickly,” Bail said as he answered his comm.

Cody smirked. When they had a worthwhile goal, the Vode moved _fast._

“Preparations are underway. We leave late afternoon tomorrow. With the ships we are taking, we won’t need to stop except at hyperlane points, so we’ll arrive sometime in the evening four days later,” he explained. 

Bail looked away from the comm and Cody heard the telltale sign of something tapping at a datapad.

“There’s a few things I can’t move scheduled for that next morning. But the Senate schedule is clear starting at midday,” Bail advised him a long moment later.

“Not anymore,” Kote said with a predatory smile. 

Bail grinned in return. 

“You are absolutely correct, Vod’alor. You are now on the Senate’s schedule for that afternoon.” 

Cody’s smile slipped and he groaned. “If this takes all afternoon….” 

Bail snorted. “That’s politics my friend!” 

CWCWCWCWCWCWCWCW 

With Rex doing most of the coordinating with Thire and Odd Ball, and with Bly and Wolffe assisting that morning, Cody wasn’t needed until after midday. He had, in fact, been _informed_ that they didn’t want to see him until after midmeal. He was almost insulted, but he was mostly pleased because it meant he and Obi-Wan had plenty of time for this. 

“There’s ner prud'ika,” Cody said with a large smile. 

_His little shadow_. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but find that adorable.

Aranar practically threw himself into Cody’s arms.

“Ba’buir Elsi said you were coming to visit me! Just me!”

Elsinore and her husband Kayos were from the planet Aquilae initially and had been among the people hired to come to Concord Dawn and help take care of and raise the Littles several years prior. Padme, Sabe and Bail had introduced the idea of _grandparents_ to the Vode, who had been fascinated by it. So, after a long search and hiring process, several hundred people -many couples, but some triads and some individuals- had come to CD to take on the role of being grandparents to all the young Vode. It was a job that they were compensated for, but the children called them ba’buire anyway. It worked out well for everyone. Aranar was one of the last batch of Littles decanted after Oya Vode. It meant he was young enough that he didn’t remember a time before the arrival of the grandparents. He and those of his age had never known anything but the love of their brothers, their caretakers and their ba’buire. Cody would forever be grateful that there were so many of the Littles that were spared the cold, painful parts of being raised on Kamino. And he tried to ignore the side of him that wished that he had been able to pull off leaving the GAR sooner so that _more_ of the young ones had been spared. He couldn’t change the past. He had to focus on the present, and the future. 

“Hope you don’t mind having firstmeal with us this morning!” Cody told him.

Aranar’s bright smile practically lit up the room. He wrapped his little arms around Cody and hugged him.

“Nope, don’t mind!” He said enthusiastically.

They had stopped at a restaurant on the way for waffles and bantha bacon as a treat. Usually the Littles were fed very health conscious meals, though Cody was fairly certain Concord Dawn had to have the highest average per capita pudding cup consumption rate in the galaxy. The Lightning and Rancor boys still working with the Littles made sure they were well cared for and healthy. If they all happened to spoil the kids a bit on occasion…well. Who could blame them. But it still meant this would be a treat for Aranar, beyond it being the first time Cody had come to see just him. Obi-Wan didn’t spend much time with the Littles, given his usual workload at the Temple, so his presence at all was unusual.

Force, Cody wanted this to go well. If it didn’t…he was fairly certain his heart would break if Obi-Wan didn’t think he could love this little boy. He shook his head to try to clear those thoughts away. This would go well. Obi-Wan would love Aranar and vice versa. It would be fine. He had to believe that.

There was a nice garden outside the building where Aranar lived and that was where they would go. They had considered just picking the boy up and _going_ to a restaurant with him, but this was about a gentle, easy first meeting for Obi-Wan and Aranar. Cody wanted to make sure it stayed low stress. Keeping the young boy somewhere he felt comfortable should help him be relaxed and a relaxed little one would help make sure there was a relaxed Obi-Wan too.

“You mentioned last time that you were going to be starting a new unit in school on animals found on Naboo. Do you have a favorite one you’ve learned about so far?” Cody asked.

Aranar beamed and began happily chattering away. He wasn’t old enough yet for serious lessons, but the young ones his age did have structured learning. They learned how to read and write in Basic and Mando’a. They learned the basics of counting and simple math, though he wouldn’t be old enough for the serious lessons on that until the following year. They learned about the wildlife on Concord Dawn, then started learning about plants and animals on allied worlds. Subjects were kept varied to keep them actively engaged. There was no shortage of playtime either. There had been a lot of debate about how they would structure the education system for the Littles. They didn’t want the sterile, impersonal structure of Kamino. The Vode learned about school structures on all of their allied worlds. They took some bits from what they liked and what they agreed worked, but they set up their own structures too. It seemed to work. The Littles were happy, and they were learning.

“I’ve seen one of those, actually,” Obi-Wan offered hesitantly.

Aranar’s eyes widened.

“Really? What was it like?” The Little asked excitedly. 

Cody had let his mind wander and missed what animal Aranar had been talking about. He needed to pay more attention. 

“Naboo is a beautiful planet. It’s usually quite peaceful. But that changes quickly when a whole herd of shaak get sick. Or if you suddenly find yourself in a field full of them!” Obi-Wan explained. 

The little one’s eyes were the size of saucers. He bit his lip and hesitated. But he finally worked up the courage to ask a question. 

“Tell me about it? Please?” 

Obi-Wan’s smile was soft and encouraging. 

“I would love to.”

Cody could _feel_ his heart melting as he watched them talk so happily. He hated to interrupt them, but they had arrived at his chosen picnic spot and food was supposed to be part of this meeting. He was figuring out how to gently interrupt when Aranar’s stomach did it for him. He wasn’t entirely sure he’d heard such a loud sound from so small a person before.

“I think my tummy is hungry,” the little one said, giggling.

“Oh dear, I do believe you’re right! We best feed you before it turns into a ferocious beast!” Obi-Wan teased.

Aranar laughed, bright and clear and innocently sweet.

“Well then, it’s a good thing I’ve got waffles and bacon right here!” Cody chimed in, holding up the bag he had been carrying.

His husband and their charge (hopefully, hopefully their future son) turned pleased smiles in his direction. He gestured for them to sit and waited for them to do so before he distributed their meals. He sat down, completing their little triangle. 

“So the shaak are your favorite?” Cody asked, hoping it wasn’t clear his mind had wondered. 

Aranar nodded, but politely did not talk with his mouth full. 

Obi-Wan seemed pleased about that. 

“Their faces looked squished,” Aranar said, squishing his own nose for a moment as if to emphasize his point, “But their bellies are fat, and they _float_ but they don’t actually like water. And, well. We all know Master Shaak! It’s funny that there’s an animal with her name!” 

Cody smiled at the excited answer. It was adorable. 

“I can see how that would be funny, yes!” He agreed. 

Once they finished eating, Cody had an idea. 

“Obi-Wan has visited Naboo more than once. I’m sure he’d be willing to tell you more about the animals he’s seen if you ask.”

Aranar turned large, pleading eyes on the other adult.

“Please?” He asked.

There was only one possible response to that.

“Of course, little one,” Obi-Wan said with a gentle smile. 

The child _beamed._

Cody knew he was in trouble. 

CWCWCWCWCWCWCWCW

As Obi-Wan watched Cody and Aranar together, he couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the _rightness_ of the scene. The deep, protective love Cody felt for the little boy was matched in intensity and depth by the bright, trusting, innocent love Aranar felt for him in return. It was beautiful. So beautiful. Obi-Wan knew then that Cody already loved this child as if he were his own. The little boy’s sadness when they had to leave made Obi-Wan’s heart _ache_. How did Cody manage this week after week when he loved the boy so much?

“What did you think?” Cody asked hesitantly when they had arrived home to grab their things for the trip. 

Even though he was nervous about the answer, he looked his husband right in the eye. Whatever the response, he would face it. 

“I think he’s perfect,” Obi-Wan said softly. “Cody, he loves you so much. I hope you know that.” 

Hope began to fill him. Maybe they could have this.

“I do,” Cody assured quietly. “Do you think…”

“Yes. If we can get this situation with the Senate resolved, we are absolutely adopting that boy,” Obi-Wan said.

Cody’s whole body lit up with joy before he settled into fierce determination.

“I will fix this.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aranar would be around 5 years old.
> 
> The idea of there being Grandparents on Concord Dawn will be explored more in a forthcoming project a group of us from the Soft Wars Discord are planning.


	3. Kote Takes a Trip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vod'alor leaves for Coruscant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many discussions are had in this chapter and Obi-Wan thinks too much. The angsting that Obi-Wan does in this chapter is directly responsible for me writing What Wise Men Fear and Urmankar'la Haat'mitir. It's what set of the angst train.
> 
> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts for betaing this chapter. And to Poptarts, Tessadoesthings and Shira for general enabling and putting up with my lamenting about Obi-Wan and his angst for weeks! 
> 
> No Aranar in this chapter, but he'll be back in the next one!
> 
> Please check the end notes for additional information regarding this chapter and the next chapter.

CWCWCWCW

It took four days to travel between Concord Dawn and Coruscant. They would spend those days planning for the worst-case scenarios. But since it was already late afternoon by the time they were underway, everyone agreed that they could wait until morning to get started. 

Any ship Cody might need to travel on had had a set of quarters renovated for him. It provided him a comfortable bedroom, a private fresher and a living room space. That space was useful, as it allowed him to meet with more people than his formal shipboard office could accommodate. 

But this? This was the _Negotiator._ This was a ship that would never be anything but _his._ What had been Obi-Wan’s quarters had been expanded to include multiple rooms around it, leaving Cody with a bedroom, expanded fresher, living room, dining area and a private office all connected. His official office was located where it always had been, away from his quarters and nearer the bridge, giving him multiple workplace options. It was a luxury in many ways, but Cody would take it.

CWCWCWCW

Obi-Wan woke early and knew getting back to sleep would be impossible. He had had a troubled night and his mind was restless. He carefully slipped from the bed, dressed and exited their quarters. Cody’s office was the only place on the ship he was guaranteed to be left alone this early and he needed to think and to meditate. If he tried to stay in the living area of their quarters, Cody would want to talk right away. He needed to meditate first.

It was too early for most to be up and about so the halls were quiet. He was relieved about that, but it also gave him a chance to take a good look at things as he walked by them. The Vode had taken good care of the ships they had taken. But the _Negotiator_ had been his, _theirs_. It was nice, Obi-Wan thought, to be on this ship for something other than war. The _Negotiator_ was where his romance with Cody had started, he would have hated to see it fade from use. It warmed his heart to see that Cody valued this ship as much as he did.

He slipped into Cody's office with ease. He settled into a meditative position, but his mind was too clouded to fall into proper meditation. So, he _thought_ instead. Events of the last few days flew through his mind and all he could feel was guilt and shame.

‘I’ve been so selfish.’ He thought. ‘My selfishness hurt my fellow Jedi. How can I pretend to be fit to run our new Temple when my actions have so burdened others? Kit is exhausted and hurting. Time and again he was deprived of time with Rex and Bacara because I wasn’t _doing my job properly_. The others on the Council all look so tired too. And Cody. Oh, Cody. I’ve hurt him so much and denied him something he so clearly wants desperately. Watching him with Aranar...his love for the boy _shone_ in the Force. And Cody has been denied the chance to be the boy’s father sooner because he was waiting for _me_ to come Home and to be _ready_ and I took so long. How much happiness did I cost him? How much happiness did I cost _both_ of them? Aranar’s love for Cody is so bright and clear. He deserves to know how much he is loved. I will do better, be better. I must.’

He could not keep failing like he had been.

CWCWCWCWCW

Obi-Wan, Cody, Rex, Wolffe, Bly, Waxer, Davijaan and Thire met in the conference room on the _Negotiator_ later that morning.

“There’s how many Jedi?” Odd Ball asked as he looked down at his datapad.

“Total roughly 16,000. Though nowhere near that number will be on Coruscant. A significant number of Knights will be out on missions, unless the Council recalls anyone they can before we arrive,” Obi-Wan answered.

“There’s only 16,000 Jedi in the galaxy? No wonder everyone is spread so thin,” Waxer said.

“We lost a large number of active Knights and Masters during the war, unfortunately. We lost a hundred inside the first year, not counting the nearly 200 we lost on Geonosis when it all started, and it just accelerated from there. We lost thousands by the time the war ended. The number of Jedi currently able to take field missions is only about 10,000,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

The clones looked at one another in stunned silence. They had known, abstractly, that many Jedi had died during the war. To hear it laid out so matter-of-factly was still astonishing. In sheer numbers more clones had been lost year, but there were far fewer Jedi to begin with. Their losses were hardly negligible.

Obi-Wan pressed on, not wanting to dwell.

“The number I gave doesn’t count the service corps, but we don’t have to worry about them at this juncture. They aren’t on Coruscant. They can be told of what is happening, but most wouldn’t leave their tasks unless given a direct order from the Council. And I can’t see that happening unless direct threats are made against them,” he told him.

“So we _can_ fit all of them on the three Venators we have with us easily,” Bly pointed out, steering the conversation back on track before they could go off on too much of a tangent. “But what about belongings?”

“The understanding is that each person will bring a bag containing clothing and anything of sentimental value they don’t want to leave behind. Obviously the creche will need more space and supplies to care for the children’s needs in transit,” Cody said. “And the Temple’s cooks will bring any food that they can to help feed everyone while in transit.”

“Master Nu advised that she would need to bring a number of holocrons from the archives. Even if the Temple is locked down using the most advanced of its security features, there are some things in the archives that it would be far too dangerous to leave behind,” Obi-Wan explained. “She’ll need a fair amount of space for that.”

“And those probably should be on a different ship than the creche?” Rex asked.

The Jedi paused.

“That is an excellent point, Rex. Yes. That would be safest,” he agreed.

“And those Jedi that aren’t welcome on Concord Dawn?” Wolffe asked.

Obi-Wan’s heart always ached at that reminder, that here were those Jedi that the Vode didn’t trust.

“Mace is going to contact the Temple on Corellia. If that Temple won’t take them, other arrangements will be made,” he said quietly.

“We should go over the Jedi lists,” Bly said.

“Lists?” Obi-Wan asked, curious.

That wasn’t something he had heard of before.

“There are five categories for the Jedi,” Cody explained to his husband. “Family, Allowed, Allowed but Monitored, Allowed with Restrictions and Not Allowed.”

“Also known as Ours, Allowed, Thin Ice, Thin Fucking Ice and No Fucking Way,” Wolffe provided helpfully.

Obi-Wan, The Negotiator, had no idea what to say to that.

“Family and Not Allowed should be self-explanatory. Allowed are the Jedi who served with battalions and were well liked. Allowed but Monitored are those who didn’t so we don’t know them. Master Nu would be on that list. We have heard good things about her, but we don’t know her. Those on that list can go almost anywhere, though Littles housing is off limits without escort. Allowed with Restrictions can’t go _anywhere_ without an approved escort,” Cody elaborated.

“I see,” Obi-Wan said slowly. That was a very detailed breakdown. “I hadn’t realized there were so many levels. I assumed there was merely family, the welcomed and the not welcomed.”

“Should I apologize for encouraging more divisions?” Rex asked. “I like to be thorough, so much of it _was_ my idea.”

The Jedi shook his head.

“I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

“Vos bounces between Monitored and Restricted,” Bly added, knowing that would provide amusement and cut off any potential argument about list structure.

“That _doesn’t_ surprise me,” Obi-Wan said with a sigh.

CWCWCWCWCW

Cody was looking over some ideas on his datapad shortly after midmeal the next day when his comm pinged, signaling an incoming call. He answered it and the face of a Mon Calamari appeared.

“Good day, Vod’alor. May I speak with Obi-Wan please?”

Cody had no idea who this woman was or why she was calling _him_ to speak to his husband.

“Hello…”

The Mon Calamari sighed.

“I'm Bant, Jedi Healer and creche mate of Obi-Wan’s. I can tell he's being foolish from here. He hasn’t answered my calls or responded to my messages since before you left Concord Dawn. He only does that when he’s trying to hide something from me,” She said honestly.

That made both more and less sense than he expected.

“Oh, Rex told me about you. And I agree, something is up. He hasn't slept well since we left but he doesn't seem to want to talk. So let me get my idiot riduur for you,” Cody said with a smile. “And please, just call me Cody.”

“Thank you, Cody. If Obi-Wan is being particularly foolish, I might need you to punch him for me. _Gently_ of course. Just enough to show my displeasure,” Bant said politely.

The clone laughed. He had a feeling they were going to get along well.

“I can do that,” He agreed with a smile.

“Perfect. Force, are all the CD Jedi this bad, or do I just already know the worst ones?” She asked with a dramatic sigh.

Yes, they were going to get along _great._

“You know, I don't actually have the answer to that question. Shaak and Aayla seem ok though. So maybe you do already know the worst?” He offered in a conciliatory tone.

“I’m going to have to interrogate them all to be certain,” Bant said with a huff.

“Sounds like a smart plan,” Cody agreed. “Let me go get Obi-Wan.”

Cody went into the living area where Obi-Wan was meditating. It was only a moment before his husband registered his presence and slipped out of his mediation.

“Your friend Bant wants to talk to you and she isn’t taking no for an answer,” Cody said as soon as Obi-Wan’s eyes opened.

His Jedi sighed.

“I suppose she isn’t pleased that I’ve missed so many calls from her.”

“Not particularly,” the clone replied as he handed over the comm.

He returned to his private office to give them privacy for the call.

“Hey you jerk, answer your comm! I can feel you being guilty from here. Is this over not being omniscient and knowing what every other Jedi's been dealing with or something else?” Bant demanded, not being one too beat around the bush.

“I'm not feeling guilty,” Obi-Wan claimed, lied, like that had _ever_ worked with Bant.

She stared, daring him to try that again.

Obi-Wan folded like wet flimsi.

“Alright, so perhaps I am. _A little_. But I'm fine. Really,” he assured. 

Bant continued to stare.

“I’ve come to some unfortunate conclusions about my behavior and how selfish I have been of late,” Obi-Wan began.

He continued to explain his recent self-revelations, not realizing Bant was not pleased.

“Stop this banthashite right now, Obi-Wan Kenobi,” she said sternly. “I _will_ demand the Force teleport me right there to smack you if this nonsense continues.”

“That's not how the Force works!” Obi-Wan sputtered.

Bant stared back challengingly.

“Try. Me.”

“Bant,” he said.

“I wouldn't be friends with a terrible person so you can knock that _right_ off. You taking care of yourself after the war was the _right thing to do_. Don't worry, I'll be yelling at everyone else for being kriffing idiots once I get my hands on them,” she assured. “Self-care isn’t selfish. One of these days that _will_ make it through your thick skull.”

Obi-Wan looked away. Bant just _didn't understand._

“What else are you feeling guilty about? Are you panicking in attachment too?” She asked.

Obi-Wan sighed.

“No, I accepted my attachments long ago,” He said. Then he added softly, “I've been very selfish with those too.”

She was glaring again.

“Oh for the love of the Force loving people is not _selfish_!” Bant snapped.

When Obi-Wan responded, he sounded pained.

“It is when that means asking them to wait for you. When it means they sacrifice things that would have made them happy, because you weren’t there. There’s a child, Bant. One he wants to adopt, and he didn’t because of _me._ ”

Bant sighed heavily. 

“Obi-Wan. Cody is currently charging across the galaxy to yell at the entire Senate about a problem he learned about only _days_ ago. Do you really think he'd wait for _anything_ if he didn't want to? He took _all_ of his people and left as soon as he figured out how and I'm sure he would've left sooner if he could've. He is not a paragon of patience. Calculated strategy? Yes. Patience? No. But he waited for you, waited for you to figure out what you wanted and needed. Obviously, the man loves you and wants to build a family with _you_ , but that's not a one-sided thing. So he's waited until you were ready to be a part of it too.”

“I shouldn't have made him wait so long. It wasn't fair. I _know_ my indecisiveness hurt him. I'll never be able to make it up to him,” Obi-Wan said softly.

“Force. Give. Me. Strength.” Bant ground out in frustration. “Between you and Kit, I swear to the Force there's going to be a murder and no jury will convict me. Where's Cody? I need him to shake you until the stupid falls out.”

Obi-Wan smiled ruefully.

“He knows you're a mind healer, so he left the room to give us privacy.”

“This is hardly a formal session. But! What's happened has happened. I'm sure he wishes you'd been there too, but what matters is you're there _now_.”

“But I have duties to the Jedi, duties I've been failing on and I cannot let that continue. What if he gets tired of it?” Obi-Wan asked. 

“Did you _ask him_?” Bant responded.

“No. I can't bear to hear him admit it could happen,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

“Where is this coming from, Obi?” Bant prodded gently.

He hesitated, trying to figure out what to say. 

“I’ve made so many mistakes, Bant. During and after the war with him and _everyone else_. Cody has always forgiven those mistakes, but there must be a limit. A limit to the times he’ll accept my being a Jedi as an excuse for some way I’ve failed him, failed our family,” he said, voice so full of regret and pain.

“Obi-Wan, don’t do this to yourself. You’re a good man, a good Jedi, a good husband. Are you perfect? Of course not. No one is. But as long as you constantly try to be better and are aware when you fail and try to fix it, that’s what counts. He knows there are concessions that have to be made because you are a Jedi. But there are concessions that have to be made because he is Vod’alor. You have to find your balance, _together_ ,” she told him.

“Bant,” he said softly.

“Ok. Give the comm back to Cody and go take a nap. You're being worse than usual and he mentioned you haven’t been sleeping well. Call me when you wake up and we'll try this conversation again,” she ordered. “Maybe you’ll be more reasonable then. But don’t hang up, I want to talk to him.”

Obi-Wan sighed but did as he was told. He went into Cody’s office and handed the comm back to him.

“Everything alright, cyare?” His husband asked.

“I have been ordered by Bant, in her professional capacity of course, to "go take a nap",” the Jedi said.

“That's not a bad idea. You didn't get enough sleep,” Cody said softly.

Obi-Wan sighed again.

“She also wants to talk to you.”

Cody took the comm.

“Ok. I’ll stay in here. You go get some rest.”

As soon as he was out of the room, Cody looked down at the comm.

“What can I do for you?” He asked.

“He mentioned a few things and I need background, from _your_ point of view, so I know how to help him address them,” she explained.

He was suddenly glad his next meeting wasn’t until latemeal. This was going to take a while.

CWCWCWCWCWCW

They arrived on Coruscant and Kote addressed the Senate.

In a move they all should have seen coming, the Senate refused to be reasonable. Removing the Jedi from Coruscant was made necessary. 

Fortunately, they were prepared for that.

The Senate on the other hand, was not.

CWCWCWCW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end of this chapter is where the Coruscant sections of [Your Battles are Mine, My Victories are Yours](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26133550) occur. Chapter 4 picks up in transit to Corellia with the Jedi who aren't allowed on Concord Dawn.  
> "Your Battles are Mine, My Victories are Yours" is separated into its own fic because it is also relevant to "We Have You, We'll Keep You" by evilkillerpoptarts. If you aren't reading that one, I highly recommend you rectify that situation!


	4. Difficult Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trip back to Concord Dawn provides time for some difficult, but necessary conversations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that Flufftober and Whumptober are over, it's back to our regularly scheduled programing....
> 
> There is now some lovely art for Obi-Wan, Cody and Aranar by the amazingly talented [CobaltBeam](https://cobaltbeam.tumblr.com/) . It can be seen here: [Family Picnic](https://cobaltbeam.tumblr.com/post/632158212719771648/commission-for-wanderingjedihistorian-and-her). Aranar is just so darn cute!! 
> 
> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts and Shira for betaing this chapter. Some parts were pretty rough so I appreciate the help and patience!

CWCWCWCWCW 

Kote had promised the Jedi his protection, so he considered it his duty to see them safely to their destination. But since not all Jedi were welcome on Concord Dawn, and there were also those who simply didn’t want to go there, another stop was required. He made the decision to accompany the ship bound for Corellia before it could return to Concord Dawn. He practically had to manhandle Rex onto one of the two ships headed straight for Home. His idiot vod’ika was still feeling guilty about all of this, but he had a husband, boyfriend and new baby to get home to. Kote could take care of this part without him.

Plo was on the ship with the children from the creche, which meant that’s where Wolffe was too. That left Rex and Bly on the third ship. Cody was comforted by the fact that they had to deal with Quinlan Vos the whole way to CD. Providing no one spaced him first. Vos had been on the “Thin Ice List” but _something_ had happened before they had finished loading the ships that left Obi-Wan looking angry with his friend and that was all that was needed to move him to the “Thin Fucking Ice list” that would see him restricted to the Temple.

“It’s only a day and a half to Corellia, will the Temple there be ready to handle the influx by the time we arrive?” Kote asked. 

He and Obi-Wan were sitting in their quarters resting after the eventful day.

“Yes. Mace has already been in contact with them. It won’t necessarily be comfortable for the first day or two while long unused quarters are prepared, but there are only going to be a few hundred going there so they can cope,” Obi-Wan assured. 

Kote was proud that so many of the Jedi felt comfortable coming to the Vode, felt comfortable with _trusting_ the Vode to protect them. But he was also glad that they had gracefully accepted that there were some Jedi who were _not_ welcome on Concord Dawn. 

“Master Mundi will likely remain in his quarters most of the time,” Obi-Wan offered in what was meant to be a conversational tone.

All of the Vode were protective of the Novas, Valors and Winders. As a result, Mundi was one of their least favorite Jedi in the Order. Nothing could or would change that.

“We appreciate his consideration,” Kote replied.

The Jedi inclined his head. 

Cody pulled his riduur into his arms. 

“It’s going to be ok,” he said gently. 

Obi-Wan turned his head and pressed a kiss to his husband’s cheek.

“I know. I just...hate it, that there were Jedi that didn’t take proper care of their men. We had a war to fight, yes, but we had a _duty_ if nothing else, to see to the wellbeing of our troops to the best of our abilities. That there were those who _didn’t_ …” he trailed off. 

“I love you,” Cody breathed. “And I love how deeply you care about my brothers. But neither of us can change the past. 

“I should have done more,” the Jedi whispered.

“Don’t. You took so much on your shoulders then. You practically ran yourself into the ground. Don’t blame yourself for not being able to personally oversee the care of an entire army,” Cody chided gently. 

Obi-Wan huffed out a pained laugh.

“Only if you agree to the same.”

The clone acknowledged the point. 

“It’s not wrong to care. But neither of us can afford to dwell on the past. We have too much to live for _now,_ ” Cody said. 

“Yes, yes we do,” Obi-Wan agreed. 

The dark-haired man turned his head so that their foreheads were touching. 

“Why don’t we head to bed? It was a long day and I’d like to hold you for a while,” He said softly.

“That sounds lovely,” the redhead replied with a smile. 

The coming days, and likely weeks, would be chaotic, but they would face it head on. They had a future to create. 

CWCWCWCWCWCWCW

The evening after they delivered the Jedi safely to Corellia, Obi-Wan realized he was long overdue for a certain comm call. 

As soon as she answered her comm, Bant scolded, “You were supposed to call me after your nap. It’s been nearly a week; you’d better have been in a coma.” 

Obi-Wan sheepishly replied, "We've been busy?" 

Bant’s glare showed she was _unimpressed_ with his answer. 

“Are we ready to try this conversation again?” She asked.

Obi-Wan sighed. He really wasn’t but he knew she wasn’t going to accept that answer forever. 

“I suppose so,” he reluctantly agreed. 

“Ok. So what is your biggest concern with the concept of you two becoming parents?” The Mon Calamari Healer asked. 

The human thought for a few heartbeats, determining the best way to put it into words. 

“Time, I suppose,” he said after a long moment. “If I take on more Jedi duties again, as I should, on top of my duties as the head of the Temple on Concord Dawn…I’m afraid there just won’t be enough _time_ for me to be a good parent too. I’m afraid I’ll barely be able to continue being a good _husband_ ,” he said quietly. 

“It’s a reasonable worry. There are only so many hours in the day. Ask yourself this. When Cody is successful, and yes, I do say when, will you really need to take on many missions? Running a Temple is a full-time job in and of itself. With the Senate forced to be more reasonable, will you really need to take missions like the Knights and Masters who _don’t_ run Temples do?” Bant asked.

Obi-Wan paused. That was a good question. 

“If… _when_ …Cody is successful…I suppose not? At least not most of the time. If the workload for the Order is more reasonable, it will be possible to ease everyone’s burdens. I could still help if an emergency occurred or if a negotiation arose that needed my specific skills, but ordinarily I could remain on Concord Dawn and see to the day to day of the Temple,” he mused. 

“Ok. Consider that scenario. Do you feel you would be able to balance work and a family?” she asked.

The human hesitated.

“I want to say yes. But truly, I don’t know,” he admitted. “It’s not that I don’t want a family with Cody. I _do._ But I just…don’t know.”

“Obi-Wan. Other than time. What is it? There’s something deeper here. Something you aren’t telling me,” Bant said. “Maybe you haven’t fully admitted it to yourself, but you need to.” 

He closed his eyes, ran a hand across his face and took a deep breath.

“I wasn't even a good Master to Anakin, how am I going to be a good parent to a child?”

The look on Bant’s face said it was going to be a long, long comm call.

It was a long comm call and difficult enough she called an end to it and ordered him to call her back the next morning.

“You need a break, a meal, and some rest before we continue,” Bant said gently.

CWCWCWCWCW 

The call the next morning was equally as difficult. He hadn’t realized how much he had buried over the years until he was being made to confront it.

“You’ve always been the type to bury your hurts deep and keep carrying on,” Bant told him. “Qui-Gon didn’t give you much choice and then you added to that by convincing yourself that you had to be _perfect_ to be worthy of being Anakin’s master.”

Obi-Wan drooped.

“I just wanted to do the right things by both of them.”

The healer frowned.

“That was admirable, but it never should have required doing the _worst_ by you. Yet that’s what it frequently morphed into, especially with Qui-Gon. I think that’s part of the root of your problem here. Cody has supported you doing the right things for _you_ and you don’t know how to handle that.” 

The human had no idea how to respond to that.

“The best thing you can do is talk to Cody about all of this. Talk to him about your fears and doubts,” the Mon Calamari urged. “He can’t help if you don’t let him.”

CWCWCWCWCW

After meditating on his talks with Bant, and deciding to heed her suggestion, Obi-Wan realized he needed to talk to Cody about his fears. He could turn himself inside out for eternity and without Cody’s input, none of it would matter. He left the office and headed for the living room.

“How did your calls with Bant go?” Cody asked, looking up from his datapad. “You seemed tired last night so I didn’t want to ask, and I didn’t want to disturb your meditation just now.” 

His husband was always so thoughtful like that. 

“She pointed out that there are several things I should talk to you about. That I can’t just… “think the problems away by myself”, were her words,” the Jedi said with a wince.

The clone smiled encouragingly. He set his datapad down on the table next to the couch and encouraged the other man to sit down.

“Ok, then let’s see what we can do about them together,” he said. 

Obi-Wan loved him so much he didn’t think he actually had the words to describe it.

CWCWCWCWCW

Obi-Wan had struggled to start explaining. Once he had, he almost wished he hadn’t. He finally admitted his greatest fear, his greatest doubt. He had admitted part of him still feared there was no place for him in the life Cody had built and that the clone would realize it sooner or later. He never anticipated the _pain_ his words would cause his beloved.

 _“How can you_ doubt _me?”_

Obi-Wan didn’t think those words would ever stop ringing in his ears. Cody had sounded so _hurt_ when he asked that. Obi-Wan knew his own heart had absolutely shattered at the devastated look on his husband’s face as he uttered those words before getting up and leaving their quarters. 

Force, _what had he done?_

CWCWCWCWCW

Cody was sitting on the couch in the living area when Obi-Wan returned from his evening meditation. 

They had barely spoken in the last two days; hadn’t spoken at all outside of necessary conversations related to the relocation of the Jedi. Cody hadn’t slept in their bed, instead choosing the couch. Obi-Wan’s fears had grown exponentially in his mind to the point meditation was nearly impossible. He feared that he had finally proven he wasn’t worth it, proven that he would do nothing but fail Cody and cause him heartache. He didn’t want that; he didn’t want to lose his beloved husband. He wanted them to make it work. He wanted the chance to try to make this up to the other man, if that was even possible. Obi-Wan realized that he and Cody needed to talk, no matter what the outcome was going to be. He just wasn’t sure how to make that happen. Talking to Cody wasn’t usually hard.

The Jedi was startled out of his thoughts by the clone getting to his feet.

“Obi-Wan,” the dark-haired man said softly. 

The redhead was surprised to be immediately enveloped in his husband’s warm, strong embrace.

“Cody.”

“I needed to clear my head and get my own thoughts in order before I felt comfortable trying to talk through any of what you told me. I talked to Bant; she helped me sort out my thoughts so I could be ready to talk. I am now. I love you. I love you so much,” the clone said fervently.

The Jedi blinked back tears as he held on tightly. 

“I love you too. I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you. I love you. I want to do better,” he said honestly. 

“Shhhh. You _are_ doing better. You are. You came Home. We’re married. We need to communicate better, but we’re working on it,” Cody said gently. “This is a bump in the road, cyare, but we will overcome it. We love each other too much for anything else.”

Obi-Wan could feel the other’s love and devotion in the Force. It never ceased to be humbling, that this wonderful, brave, strong man loved him so much. 

They sat side by side on the couch, still holding one another’s hands.

“I won’t lie, Obi-Wan. Your reluctance to pledge _hurt._ You supported me and that meant a great deal, but your reluctance to commit to truly being part of it was difficult. But when the Council ordered you to fake your death and your first action was to come to me...I knew that your heart had chosen. Your heart had chosen _me,_ ” Cody said before brushing a kiss across his beloved’s temple. “That beautiful mind of yours just needed to catch up.” 

“I hadn’t realized it then,” the redhead admitted quietly. “But yes. My heart chose long before my mind.”

The clone smiled at the admission. He brought their joined hands to his lips and brushed a kiss across the other’s knuckles.

“I won’t pretend your absence over the years after Oya Vode didn’t hurt. But you had to think through and come to terms with a lot of things. I understand that. It hurt that you didn’t feel that you could do that on Concord Dawn, but you had to do what was right for you and that’s what you did. I respect that. And it’s not like I did nothing in that time. It gave me time to settle into my role as Vod’alor after we were free. It gave me time to build a home for _us_. For myself, I didn’t see a point. Why build myself a house when an apartment near my office was just fine? But I realized I wanted to be ready when you were. I wanted us to have a place that was truly _ours_ , a sign of our new life together, whatever form it would take. I love you, Obi-Wan, and I swear to you there is a place for you in what I’ve built. I’ve wanted you there from the start,” Cody swore. 

“Oh,” Obi-Wan said softly.

How had he not realized?

“I wish I knew how to allay your fears, but I think only time is going to do that. Only time will prove that I love you and that will not change just because we hit a rough patch,” the dark-haired man said gently. “We’re going to struggle. We’re going to have our bad days. But we are strong enough to get through them.” 

“No one ever _chose_ me,” Obi-Wan said softly. “You...you’re so wonderful. That _you_ would choose me, despite all the drawbacks, all the challenges...it never made sense. My mind said it was too good to last. My heart told me to stop thinking so much and just trust my feelings. To trust _your_ feelings. It was so difficult to do it, but you are worth it. _We’re_ worth it.” 

Cody pulled him close.

“We are worth it, cyare. I don’t want to picture a future without you in it.”

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum,” the redhead murmured.

The dark-haired man brushed a kiss to his beloved’s forehead and replied in kind.

They talked for several hours hashing out all the things that they had neglected to talk about up until that moment. They spoke of Obi-Wan’s fears and his concerns about his abilities as a parent. Cody offered what reassurances he could; making suggestions where he could and simply offering support where he could offer nothing else. Then they made a promise. They would always, always be honest about their feelings. They wouldn’t neglect to talk about serious matters ever again.

As they lay curled together in bed, Obi-Wan asked softly, “Do you really think we can do this? Be parents?”

“I know we can,” Cody said firmly. 

The redhead took a long slow breath.

“I trust your judgment.”

The dark-haired man hugged him closer.

“I’m glad.”

Obi-Wan burrowed himself against Cody’s chest and slept better than he had since before they left Concord Dawn.

CWCWCWCWCW 

Their arrival Home was significantly less chaotic than they feared, but it helped that they arrived several days after the others. By the time they reached Concord Dawn, the first wave of Jedi was relatively settled. That their ship had the smallest number of Jedi on it given the majority had been dropped off on Corellia also helped.

The Jedi easily took charge of their own, leaving the clones to do the same. Cody and Obi-Wan were assured that everything was well in hand. The Vod’alor had come to realize when his men were politely trying to tell him to stop hovering and get out of the way, so they headed home. 

CWCWCWCWCW

There was a Council meeting that afternoon, but Cody wanted to see Aranar after being gone for a tenday. He didn’t want to disrupt the little one’s lessons, but they could sneak in the time for midmeal with him. He made the arrangements, while Obi-Wan placed an order for a relatively healthy midmeal from the deli near the school. They had officially registered their Intention to Adopt with the Vode Affairs office (a form that gave them a year to file official adoption paperwork for Aranar but still put them in his file as potential parents), so the school was willing to make an accommodation for them seeing Aranar as long as they didn’t keep him from his lessons. They planned to pick up the food on their way. 

Cody didn’t resist the urge to take Obi-Wan’s hand in his as they walked toward the deli. His husband smiled softly as he did. It was nice, being able to do those things freely.

Aranar was so happy to see them. He practically threw himself at Cody as soon as he was in range. 

“How was your trip? Is it true the Jedi are _all_ here now? Is that why you had to go to Coruscant?” The little one demanded in a stream of rapid-fire questions.

Cody laughed and hugged the boy tight. 

They took advantage of the fact that the school had picnic tables outside to enjoy their meal in the sunshine. Once they were settled at the table and Aranar had started to eat, they addressed his questions. 

“My trip was very busy,” Cody began. “Many of the Jedi are here but not all of them, and yes, that is why I had to go. We needed to go get them and bring them here.”

He wasn’t about to try to explain the reasoning to the little one, but he could still be honest. 

Aranar nodded seriously as he nibbled on his sandwich. 

“That sounds like a lot,” the boy said sagely.

Cody grinned and Obi-Wan had to stifle a laugh. 

“It was a lot,” the older clone agreed.

Obi-Wan felt some of the tension inside him ease. He knew taking on fatherhood wouldn’t be easy, but he couldn’t dismiss the feeling in the Force around them. It felt _right._

They would find a way.  
CWCWCWCWCW 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The event Cody references can be found in [As Loyal A Man](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23925355) by Project0506 and is basically the precursor to a Soft Wars version of the Hardeen fiasco.
> 
> What I have Obi-Wan and Cody do is basically register their intention to adopt Aranar so as to give a more official legitimacy to them spending time with him, while still giving them time to work through some of their struggles and giving Obi-Wan time to get to know Aranar a bit more. It's basically them saying "Yes, we plan to adopt him, but don't have all of our ducks in a row yet."


	5. Emotions and Arguments

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recent events lead to more emotional conversations and a few arguments.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ties in with the second half of [Your Battles are Mine, My Victories are Yours](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26133550).
> 
> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts and Shira for betaing and enabling!

CWCWCWCW 

Midmeal with Aranar passed all too quickly. Cody let himself be content in the knowledge that their interest in becoming his parents was official.

“I’m going to have more regular sessions with Bant,” Obi-Wan said quietly as they headed towards the parking zone where they left their speeder. “I need to make sure I know what my biggest issues are so I can resolve them. I want us to adopt Aranar. I want us to have a family. I…I don’t want fear, my fear, to hold us back.”

Cody squeezed his hand tightly.

“That sounds like an excellent idea. But I don’t want you to put too much pressure on yourself. We have a year to formally start the process.” 

“I want to feel ready as soon as we get matters sorted with the Senate,” the redhead replied. 

“I hope you are too, but please, cyare. I’d rather take a little longer to make things official and have you feel truly ready, then to rush and have you feel overwhelmed,” the dark-haired man countered. 

Obi-Wan smiled. He would never stop thanking the Force for this man.

“I appreciate that,” He agreed. “But having a goal doesn’t hurt. You and Bant will make sure I don’t get ahead of myself.” 

It was Cody’s turn to smile. 

“That is certainly true.” 

He took Obi-Wan to the Temple and then headed to his Council meeting. There was still a long afternoon to go.

CWCWCWCWCW 

Half an hour into the Council meeting, and even a non-Force sensitive could feel the tension in the room. 

“You antagonized the Republic, and you did it without even consulting us,” Stone pointed out. “They could choose to retaliate.” 

“There is no actual risk of that, or I wouldn’t have taken the type of action I did,” Cody disagreed. 

“You have no way of knowing!” Stone argued. 

“I had several discussions with the Chancellor and with Blockade before I even left for Coruscant and more after we arrived. I _do_ know. I would not put the Vode at risk,” Cody countered adamantly. “The Jedi have been our allies from the start, and we have Jedi who _are_ Vode. But I would not jeopardize our people here for the ones who are not _ours._ ” 

“He made the right decision,” Wolffe stated bluntly. 

While he saw Stone’s point of view, he disagreed with him utterly and would not hesitate to make his feelings clear. 

“You would say that. You’re still close with your former General!” Stone argued. “And you went with Cody without hesitation.” 

“And your opinion shows your Guard colored dislike of the Jedi!” Waxer fired back.

He too backed Cody’s actions and would have gone with his former Commander if asked. Instead, he had stayed behind to help with preparations. 

“I’m trying to do my _job_!” Stone snapped.

Stone _was_ on Cody’s Council because of his differing viewpoint. But in this particular instance, it was more of a problem than it was an asset. 

“Enough!” Cody said firmly. “I stand by my actions. I will not apologize for them. I understand, Stone, that you don’t approve of me acting without Council approval on a large issue, but we established from the start that I have the authority to do so. I value your opinions; I don’t want to be a _tyrant_. But neither am I restricted to doing only what this Council decides I can or should.” 

“You had the backing of over half of this Council anyway,” Bly pointed out, the calm, reasonable one as ever. 

“Yes, he consulted only those he knew would agree with him. We weren’t prepared to suddenly have all of the Jedi here!” Stone insisted. 

“We don’t have all of them here. We dropped some off on Corellia and others were mid-mission. They brought supplies with them. It’ll be fine,” Bly attempted to soothe. 

“It was two days from making the decision to go until we left. It was not a secret. He might not have consulted you, but we all know you were aware. You had the opportunity to ask questions or state objections beforehand and you didn’t take it,” Wolffe pointed out. 

Stone sighed. “I didn’t actually think it would _come to this_ when you left. But now here we are.”

“I’ve already started going through the inventory lists. The Jedi were thorough in their preparations. It won’t be a strain on our resources, though getting the Temple greenhouses expanded for additional food production needs to be a priority if they are going to be here awhile,” Jet offered, trying to diffuse the tension in the room. “I know there are some nutritional needs some of the Jedi have that we aren’t well equipped for.” 

“According to Plo, they’ve already been in contact with the AgriCorps. They are going to send a ship with food supplies as well as a few people to help the Jedi with growing more of their own foods. We know the Temple here intended to do more of that anyway, so the extra help will just speed the process up,” Wolffe added. 

“So it’ll be handled,” Cody assured. “Our resources won’t be strained by their presence and there is no _threat_ of any sort of retaliation from the Republic.” 

CWCWCWCWCW

Cody smiled when he got home and smelled latemeal already prepared. His beloved was plating up food when he walked in.

“One of the Temple cooks insisted on sending several meals home with me,” Obi-Wan said as the clone entered their kitchen. “The rest are in the conservator. I couldn’t resist the smells of this one.” 

Cody smiled and kissed his husband’s cheek. 

“If it tastes half as good as it smells, you made an _excellent_ decision. And if it doesn’t…I’m hungry enough I’d willingly eat rations right now so it will be fine regardless.” 

“Oh dear. Well, I can certainly say it will be better than _those_ terrible things!” The Jedi replied, nose wrinkled in disgust.

There was no way to describe that look except _cute,_ but the clone wasn’t foolish enough to voice the word. So he settled for giving his beloved a kiss on the temple. 

“I’ll get drinks and utensils,” he said as he moved away. 

“Excellent, thank you.”

They finished their tasks with a quiet, relaxed efficiency.

“How did the meeting go?” Obi-Wan asked after they had been quietly eating for several moments.

Cody sighed heavily. 

The redhead winced. “That well?” 

“We knew some people wouldn’t be pleased, but I hadn’t expected quite so much argument just from my Council,” the dark-haired man admitted. 

“If having the Jedi here is going to be a problem, we can come up with alternate solutions now that we have everyone off of Coruscant,” the Jedi offered carefully. 

“It’ll be fine, Obi-Wan. A few tempers need soothing, but it’ll be alright. We have another meeting tomorrow, I’m hoping things will settle more then,” Cody said. “How are things going at the Temple?” 

“Everyone is settling in surprisingly well. Jedi have always had to be adaptable, so most are taking this in stride well enough. There is concern for the future and our status overall, as one would expect, but for the moment most are calm. The Younglings are the most uncertain, but they are safe and being well cared for so they will be fine. Once the creche masters have a chance to re-establish a normal routine for them, they will settle down alright as well,” Obi-Wan explained. “The Council has been in contact with the service corps. They are aware of what has happened and are offering any support they can give.” 

They cleaned up after their meal and moved to the living room. Obi-Wan sat down on the one end of the couch. Cody decided to lay down with his head in his husband’s lap. The clone sighed in contentment when his beloved’s fingers started running through his hair.

“That feels good,” he murmured, smiling softly.

“You’ve had a long, busy few weeks,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “I’d like to take care of you tonight.” 

“You always do,” Cody replied. “We take care of each other. That’s how it’s supposed to be.” 

The gentle stroking continued. “It is.” 

After a few moments of silence, Cody knew there was something he needed to bring up, especially given Obi-Wan’s own decision earlier in the day. He sat up and faced his husband. 

"I've spent a lot of time making sure I'm doing well as Kote the Vod'alor. I think...I think it's time I actually made sure I'm doing well as _Cody_ ," He said quietly. "I talked to a therapist a few times, after the initial group of them arrived. But I didn't continue it for long. I was sure I was _fine_. In a lot of ways, I was. But looking back...there were also ways I _wasn’t,_ ways I’m still not and I should have dealt with them then rather than ignoring them all this time." 

"It’s not easy, accepting that you need help. You know I understand that. Neither of us is perfect," Obi-Wan replied gently. "And we both have a habit of looking after everyone _but_ ourselves. I'm glad you are putting yourself first for once. You should do it more." 

"Pot, kettle," Cody responded with a raised eyebrow. 

The redhead smiled ruefully. 

"I admitted that it's a _shared_ bad habit. And besides, I spent several years doing just that. You spent those years continuing to look after everyone else. You _still are_ ," he pointed out. 

“I feel most in control when I’m looking after others. But it also means I don’t have to think about _me._ I hid behind my role as Vod’alor at first. It was Bacara who eventually called me out on it, who made me face some of my own issues. So I threw myself into designing and then building our home. I told myself it was proof that I was doing better, that I was actively thinking about and planning for the future for _myself_ and not just the Vode in general,” Cody explained.

Obi-Wan took one of Cody’s hands in his. He didn’t want to interrupt, but he wanted to show his support. Cody smiled faintly at the action.

“But you weren’t the only one with fears. I buried my own and tried to pretend they didn’t exist. And that wasn't good. I should have done better because facing yours meant my own rearing their heads too and it was such a mess in my head. Bant helped in the short term, but I have to make a commitment for our long term. I handled things badly when you told me about your fears. I was right to walk away before I said something hurtful, but I should have told you I needed time before we could talk about it again. I basically ignored you for two days without saying anything at all and that wasn’t right. I hurt you and I’m sorry,” Cody continued, voice full of regret. 

“It did hurt. The relief when we talked was immense,” Obi-Wan admitted. “But better that than either of us saying something we can’t take back.” 

The clone squeezed his beloved’s hand. 

“Communication,” he said quietly. “It all comes back to that, doesn’t it?”

The redhead smiled. 

“Indeed, it does.” 

CWCWCWCWCW

They made love slowly and gently that night. They relished the closeness and connection. 

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum,” Obi-Wan said softly as they curled together afterwards, warm and sated.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, cyare,” Cody replied as he pulled his beloved close.

They both had a lot of work to do and it would be an ongoing process, but both knew it was worth it. They were worth it. Their future was worth it.

CWCWCWCWCW

Less than two days after they returned to Concord Dawn, the expected call came.

“’Alor! We’ve received a message from the Senate and the Chancellor. They wish for a meeting with you to discuss terms of negotiation.” 

Cody had honestly expected this bit to take longer. Maybe the Senate was finally seeing sense. He knew that was hoping for nothing short of a miracle, but _still._ There was a slight possibility. 

Bail Organa _was_ the single most sensible person in the Republic, so there was a _chance_ he talked others around to being reasonable. 

Maybe. 

CWCWCWCWCW 

Knowing Padme, she would be en route to Concord Dawn by day’s end. That gave them a few days to have their own discussions and prepare for her arrival. Cody knew he wasn’t the only one with questions and concerns. He was grateful that they would be dealing with someone they could actually _trust,_ for this part of the process if nothing else.

Cody hoped things would go swiftly once she arrived so that they could move forward with the actual negotiations on Corellia. Everyone would feel better once there was a sign of progress. 

CWCWCWCWCW

The morning after the holocall with the Senate, Cody realized there was a conversation he needed to have. He almost didn’t do it, but no one could accuse him of being a coward. He asked Rex to come to his office at his earliest convenience.

“You’re probably not going to like this conversation,” Cody admitted as he sat down on the office couch, datapad in hand. 

Cody handed Rex the pad, which contained a contract to pay Torrent Security for the assistance rendered while on Coruscant and for the to-be-rendered assistance on Corellia. 

“What. The. Kriff,” Rex asked as he realized what he was reading. 

He sounded tired, which was to be expected with a baby at home. 

“You have bills to pay, salaries to pay. I don’t expect your company to work for free just because we’re close, Rex,” Cody argued.

He really didn’t want this to turn into a full-blown argument. It had been a trying few weeks for both of them. He knew neither of them needed to add an argument between them to their list.

“You’re our Alor. We have a duty to you,” Rex countered, stubborn as usual.

Cody could already tell the conversation wasn’t going to go well. 

“In an emergency, I would hope any of your boys would answer if I called. But this isn’t an emergency. This could be a situation that takes _months_ to fully resolve. I’m not taking advantage of you like that. Honestly? I’m insulted you’d think I would.”

The blond shook his head.

“Don’t be because _I don’t see it that way._ You’re our Alor. You are trying to protect the Jedi, one of whom I happen to be in love with. This is _important_ and it’s as personal as it is professional. We both know that.” 

The older clone sighed wearily.

“That’s our problem, Rex. This _is_ personal for both of us. But it’s also professional. I need you to step back and look at this not as my little brother, but as the owner of a successful security company whose services I, as Vod’alor, will be hiring for the foreseeable future. Can you do that?” Cody asked gently. 

Rex closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” 

Cody frowned. 

“Rex, please. I could have gone directly to the branches, but I knew you’d be hurt if I did that. I don’t want to go behind your back, but I don’t want us to argue about this either. Just let me pay you and your people fairly for the work you’ve done and what you will do.” 

The blond sighed and took a good look at his brother. There was a tension in his posture that only those who knew him well would see. He didn’t like this, but he didn’t want to add to Cody’s burdens. And he really didn’t want to fight with his ori’vod.

“Fine,” He said reluctantly.

“Thank you,” the dark-haired man replied. 

There was silence for a moment. 

“I don’t want it to seem like _I_ helped push you to this so that _my company could profit_ ,” Rex admitted suddenly. 

Cody had not seen that coming. 

“Rex’ika, _no one will think that._ No one,” the older clone assured. 

“You don’t know that,” the younger countered.

Rex let himself be pulled into Keldabe.

“Yes, I do,” Cody replied. “Call it ori’vod intuition.”

The younger clone snorted.

“If you say so, Codes.” 

“I do say so.”

CWCWCWCWCW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually figured this out so everyone can see the wonderful art by CobaltBeam without having to go anywhere else to see it!
> 
> Seriously, Aranar is adorable and these three are so dang _soft_.


	6. Meetings and Strategies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So many meetings, so much planning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't mean for this chapter to take this long, but the characters took one look at my plans for the chapter and decided they had other ones.  
> There is only One (1) scene in this chapter that was actually part of the plan. Such is life.
> 
> Many thanks to Evilkillerpoptarts for betaing!
> 
> Also thank you to AwkwardDuckProducktions for letting me borrow Knockout again!
> 
> Hope everyone's New Year is off to a good start.

CWCWCWCWCW

After meeting with Rex, Cody ate a quick midmeal, then it was time for a meeting with his staff. Cody had been in constant comm contact with them, but this meeting was the first time since before he left for Coruscant that they were all in the same place at the same time. Only Thire, as his head of security, had accompanied him on the trip. He didn’t think it would ever stop feeling grating, the fact that everyone insisted he needed _security_ when he traveled. As if he hadn’t fought and survived a war. As if he couldn’t still beat every single member of his security staff in a spar. _You’re a planetary leader, Kote,_ they reminded him, as if he could forget it. _Planetary leaders have security details_ , _Kote_ , he was told, over and over again. He eventually agreed for appearance's sake more than anything else. He shook his head to clear the annoyed thoughts. They had too much to discuss to be delayed by such a pointless distraction.

“It’s been a busy few weeks, so I’m sure we have plenty to brief each other on,” He said to start the meeting.

“What makes you say that? The fact that you had a showdown with the Republic then stole the Jedi?” Wooley asked innocently.

The former Ghost trooper was his Executive Assistant. Vaughn had wanted more time to work on his cartoon series but didn’t want to quit entirely. So, he stepped back from the executive assistant role and took on a more minor role on the staff. As Wooley had been happy to step up and take the position, Cody had approved the changes without much discussion. Though he sometimes questioned his sanity.

“I didn’t _steal_ the Jedi. They came willingly!” Cody argued.

“You stole them from the Republic,” Thire countered.

The traitorous former Guard grinned unrepentantly when his words were met with a raised eyebrow. Adding the head of his security to his staff had come later than the others. There had briefly been concern about friction, having his security run by a Guard rather than one of his Ghosts. Fortunately, the ruffled Ghost feathers were soothed by the reminder that Thire had experience as a diplomatic escort during the war. Fortunately for them all, Thire got along with the rest of Cody’s staff far better than Cody himself would ever get along with Fox. Idly, he wondered which of them that said more about.

“However it happened, the Jedi are here now,” Cody stated.

Wooley and Thire continued grinning. Bastards. 

“Please tell me there is holo evidence of the Senate’s reaction,” Vaughn asked. “Many of our brothers would dearly love to see it.”

That was an understatement and Cody knew it. There was no love lost between the Senate and the Vode.

“All Senate sessions are recorded,” Thire chimed in.

“You can discuss that later. We have a lot to do today,” Cody said, attempting to be stern.

The amused looks told him he failed. His men were good at what they did. They were loyal and trustworthy. They were also the _Absolute_ _Worst._

“I just want it on record that this impromptu trip played hell with your schedule,” Knockout stated. “Doom said you’re lucky the Twi’leks like him, and that Cham Syndulla is supportive of your Jedi stealing.”

Cody winced. He was grateful that Doom had made a good impression on the Twi’leks what seemed a lifetime ago. Doom was good with making _friends_ for the Vode in a way Cody himself still struggled with at times. Someday he might actually get the other clone to accept an _official_ position and title for the work he did…even if the other threatened to disappear into the wilds of Concord Dawn and never came back if he gave him one. It was an empty threat and they both knew it. Still, it was nice to know that Doom had his back and would pick up certain tasks when needed…just like Squad Chekar had done for Squad Shebs so long ago on Kamino.

“Good. It’s nice to know our friends support us in this. Also…I’ll be going for Corellia for a currently unknown amount of time as well. I won’t stay for the entirety of the negotiation process, but I will stay until I’m confident things are well underway,” He said.

Knockout’s sigh was long suffering.

“When do you leave?”

“Uncertain. Padme arrives the day after tomorrow so that we can finalize plans for Corellia,” Cody explained.

“Who all is going with you?” Wooley asked, frowning at the datapad in front of him. “And the answer better include more than just Thire this time.”

Absently, Cody wondered why anyone actually believed _he_ was the one in charge of anything.

CWCWCWCWCW

During a caf break during the staff meeting that would not end, Cody realized he was feeling restless. The feeling of _something_ on the horizon never stopped being unsettling because there were so many unknowns. Something outside the normal routine would help. He sent a comm to Obi-Wan, asking his riduur if he wanted to go out for latemeal that night rather than cook at home.

_ Obi-Wan _ : It’s been a busy day here too. That sounds lovely. 

_Cody_ : Want to meet me here when you’re done? We can go to that restaurant you like that’s just down the street.

It was almost a full minute later that the response came. When it did, Cody was certain his heart melted.

 _Obi-Wan_ : Perhaps we could make arrangements to pick Aranar up if we aren’t running too late? There’s the diner not far from his dorm that would be a good place to take him.

 _Force_ , Cody loved this man. He was trying so hard, despite his lingering fears. One of the many things on Obi-Wan’s agenda for the day was an appointment with Bant; it reminded Cody that he had an appointment to make for himself. He had his issues to address too.

He also found himself wondering if there were things he did that he could convince himself to give up. He knew he’d want more time at home after the adoption. He resolved to discuss it with Wooley on the way to Corellia.

CWCWCWCWCW

Obi-Wan only let himself feel nervous about his suggestion after he sent it. He did want to spend more time with Aranar. He wanted them to get to know one another. The adoption _was_ something he wanted; he didn’t want Cody to doubt that. The fears lingered, but he was working on them. Bant was so proud of him when he told her.

With their intent to adopt filed, they had no problem making the arrangements to pick Aranar up for a few hours. Only requirement was he was back by mandatory bedtime.

Haili Cetare was a diner that specialized in what many would call “comfort foods”. It had a small set menu of sandwiches, burgers and child friendly things, but it also had a rotating menu of specials. The specials were hearty meals from around the galaxy. Obi-Wan’s fond smile when Aranar politely asked for chicken nuggets and fried tubers was heartwarming.

“I think we can arrange that,” Cody said with a smile.

The little one positively _beamed_ when it turned out the nuggets were animal shaped.

“Look!” Aranar exclaimed as he waved a tooka shaped one.

He giggled excitedly when the next one was shaped like a shaak, his favorite animal.

“How lucky!” Obi-Wan said indulgently.

They gently encouraged the child to eat and turned to their own meals. Cody had ordered the special, which was a meat and vegetable pie, while Obi-Wan had a bantha steak salad.

In between bites of his meal, the little one excitedly told them about his upcoming virtual field trip.

“We’re going to get to see all the animals at the zoo on Alderaan, just like if we were there!” Aranar explained.

Obi-Wan bit back the desire to explain there was more than one zoo on Alderaan.

“That’s wonderful,” he said instead. “I’ve never been there, but my friend who has said it was lovely.”

It was the truth. Bail and Breha had visited all of the zoological facilities on their world at one time or another and always spoke proudly of them.

Aranar smiled shyly then offered, “I could tell you about it? After we see it?”

“That would be very kind of you,” Obi-Wan said with a smile. “I’d like that.”

The child beamed and promised to share every detail.

Cody was more desperate than ever to get negotiations started, so they could be _finished,_ and they could adopt this boy. He loved him so much. Watching Aranar and Obi-Wan interact over something so mundane as a shared meal made his heart ache, longing for a future where this sort of scene was normal.

CWCWCWCWCW

Padme arrived on Concord Dawn in time for a planned formal latemeal. While the meetings between them would be relatively informal, they wanted to show that the process was important. That meant all of them putting on formal clothes and having a formal meal. Cody put on one of his nicer outfits and expected the same from his Council. A few lamented that it was “unfair” that the Jedi got out of dressing up. According to Obi-Wan, Anakin had sent him a comm specifically for the purposes of asking him to convince Cody to change the dress code. That boy was so ridiculous.

“You look so handsome,” Obi-Wan said, smiling brightly.

Cody loved that smile. He also liked it when his riduur liked how he looked. The white, double breasted short waisted coat he wore was embroidered with several diagonal lines in what was still referred to as 212th gold. Simple, well-tailored black pants and matching boots completed his look. It was not as formal as The Outfit but still formal enough to indicate the importance of the event. He didn’t like dressing up all that much, but if he had learned nothing else in the years since OV, it was how to make a statement. Obi-Wan being appreciative on all counts didn’t hurt either.

He didn’t resist the urge to steal a kiss. “Thank you, cyare.”

As Obi-Wan would be participating in the negotiations as a Jedi, he was dressed as a Jedi for dinner. Cody thought it was a pity he didn’t get to see his beloved in one of _his_ fancy outfits. Next time…

“If this wasn’t so important, I’d suggest we have a formal meal at each mealtime, just to see how long it took Anakin to devise excuses for why he couldn’t attend,” Obi-Wan said with a grin. He added, “The fact that I _adore_ how you look dressed up has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on that desire.”

“Of course not. I would never assume it did,” Cody replied, eyes shining with amusement.

It was the Jedi who stole the next kiss.

“I suppose we ought to make our appearance,” the redhead lamented.

“I do believe so, cyare.”

CWCWCWCWCW

Obi-Wan noticed Anakin looking around now and again, but he assumed it was his enduring distaste for formal dinners that was the cause.

It wasn’t until they were waiting for dessert that they found out the truth.

“Why aren’t Rex and Bacara here?” Anakin asked suddenly.

All the rest of Cody’s Council was present, along with their partners if they had them.

“Well, with the baby, Bacara is on paternity leave from the Council, so I wasn’t about to make them attend,” Cody said with a smile.

Anakin frowned.

“What baby?”

Everyone in the room froze.

“The baby they just adopted,” Obi-Wan said slowly.

Anakin’s eyes widened.

“What. Baby?” He demanded.

“They have adopted a baby Nautolan girl,” Obi-Wan explained. He hesitated. “Rex didn’t tell you?”

The younger man slumped in his seat.

“I guess it must have slipped his mind.”

“In Rex’s defense, a lot has happened in the few weeks that they’ve had her, Anakin,” Cody soothed.

Anakin straightened in his seat, eyes bright.

“I'm going over there right now!”

Padme winced.

“Ani, is that really a good idea?” She asked.

“It's fine!” Anakin said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

“Anakin, that would be _rude_ at this time of night,” Obi-Wan chided gently.

“I'm sure Rex won't mind!” The younger man disagreed.

Cody knew this would spiral out of hand fast if he didn’t intervene.

“Anakin Skywalker-Naberrie of Torrent of Vode, you will not go over there tonight and that is final.”

Anakin sulked, but grumbled out a “Yes, Alor.”

“Bacara is very on edge after everything that has happened, and Rex has only been home a short time after he accompanied me to Coruscant. They need time to settle,” Cody said more gently.

“Ok,” Anakin murmured grumpily.

The rest of the dinner passed awkwardly.

As soon as it was over, Cody sent a single comm message to Rex.

_So, you forgot to tell your oldest he now has a baby sister._

CWCWCWCWCW

The next morning, it was down to business. Cody, Bly, and Stone met with Padme first. They had questions before the Jedi representatives and Padme’s aides joined them.

“I think we can both agree that there’s no reason to stand on ceremony,” Padme said as they settled into their seats. “Not behind closed doors.”

“Agreed,” Cody replied with a nod.

Padme gave a small smile. “I am confident we can have a plan together in short order. I have some suggestions, as I’m sure you do.”

Cody grinned at that. 

“Oh, we certainly do. Questions too.”

“I expected that,” Padme admitted. “Let’s start there.”

“The obvious one is how do we know this will go any better than the resolution at the Senate that they promptly reversed?” Stone asked. “And _how_ did the Chancellor pull this together so quickly.”

The former Senator smiled.

“Bail’s no fool. He didn’t have much faith in the rest of the Senate being rational. I was already on my way to Coruscant from Naboo before Cody ever addressed the Senate. Bail and I had the outline of a plan soon after I arrived, so by the time he was able to berate the rest of them into compliance, I was already fully prepared.”

That didn’t surprise Cody in the slightest. Bail wasn’t naïve and he couldn’t afford to appear to be. It only made sense that he was formulating a backup plan before Cody’s first speech ever happened. He also understood why Bail hadn’t mentioned it. They needed to tread carefully to avoid this seeming like a power move on Bail’s part.

“I do have concerns about the Senate following through with whatever final agreement is reached,” Cody said.

Padme inclined her head.

“Normally, I’d agree. In this case...they really aren’t going to have much choice. You followed through, something most of them never expected. The Jedi are _gone_ from Coruscant and effectively _gone_ from Senate control because as you have made clear...to get to the Jedi now, they have to go through _you_ ,” she explained. “The Jedi are fully capable of operating without the Republic. The Republic doesn’t actually know how to function without the Jedi.”

“You mean they don’t know how to function without having someone to _blame_ for every ill in the galaxy, so they are having to face the uncomfortable reality that _they_ might be the problem and they can’t stand it,” Stone corrected bluntly.

Padme’s face slid into her diplomatic mask flawlessly. It was a move Cody knew all too well; Obi-Wan could do it too.

“The Republic doesn’t control the entire galaxy either. There is plenty of blame to be shared for a great many ills,” she countered.

“I’m sure they’re blaming us for plenty of them too,” Stone fired back.

“This will get us nowhere,” Bly interrupted. “Fighting with a _friend_ is incredibly counterproductive.”

“If we don’t properly understand where the Republic feels they are coming from…” Stone disagreed.

The thing was, Cody didn’t disagree with Stone. The Republic had issues, no matter how hard the _good_ members of the Senate worked to fix them. It also had plenty of members quick to blame everyone else for the Republic’s failings. Neither the Jedi nor the Vode could afford to be made scapegoats, but Bly was right too. _Padme_ was their friend. Naboo was their ally, one of the strongest they had. Treating her like their enemy wasn’t going to help.

“We’re all well aware of the Republic’s biases,” Cody cut in. “What we need to know is whether or not they are truly coming to the negotiations in good faith. I need to trust _that_ before I let the Jedi anywhere near the table.”

Padme’s face softened.

“The Republic is. Bail wouldn’t stand for anything less. He personally has ordered a thorough audit of all requests made by the Senate and its members to the Jedi since the war ended. It’s a massive undertaking, so it’s still ongoing. He is demanding answers and is threatening official sanction on any person or system who tries to interfere. Fortunately, there is support for it because enough systems are concerned that the situation with the Jedi is a sign of continuing corruption from Palpatine’s time. Corruption that everyone was so quick to congratulate themselves for rooting out. The fact that it might not have gone as well as everyone thought is...disconcerting to those who were being willfully blind,” she explained. 

Cody couldn’t help but smile at her choice of words. None of the Vode had believed the outlandish statements from the Republic that all of the corruption related to Palpatine had been located and resolved, especially as quickly as the announcement was made..

“And we all know that Palpatine was hardly the only source of corruption in the Republic,” he said.

The look on Padme’s face said it all. She agreed completely.

“Any other questions you would like me to address immediately?” She asked.

“A few,” Bly admitted.

Over the course of the morning they discussed what had occurred on Coruscant and whether or not something similar could happen with this agreement.

“It’s being considered a treaty between the Jedi and the Republic. It would require something far more than a single Senate vote to overturn it. Under the new constitution, breaking of a treaty would require a committee, an investigation and _then_ a vote with a required 75% in favor. The only exception is if the other party declares war,” Padme explained.

“Has anything _ever_ gotten that kind of a vote in the Senate?” Bly asked.

Padme thought for a moment. “It’s rare. Before the war, I can think of only a handful of bills.”

“So it was done intentionally to make treaties difficult to break without very good reason,” Cody mused.

“Breaking a treaty shouldn’t be something you can buy,” Padme replied.

That was something they all agreed on.

CWCWCWCWCW

By the end of the day, they had a good deal of the where, who and how decided on. The Jedi would join in the discussions the following day to make sure any concerns they had were addressed.

Once they had an agreed-on plan, Padme would submit it to the Senate committee and Bail for approval. If it was approved, she’d leave for Coruscant to pick up the rest of the delegation. If it wasn’t, they would go back to the table and find a compromise.

Cody hoped it all went smoothly. If they couldn’t even establish protocols smoothly, negotiations themselves would be incredibly difficult. He knew that wasn’t what anyone on their side wanted.

CWCWCWCWCW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The reference to Doom's actions with the Twi'leks is a reference to this excellent fic by Project0506:  
> [The Path of the Devout](https://archiveofourown.org/works/28475244)


	7. Planning for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Important discussions are had and the trip to Corellia begins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Many thanks to Everything_or_Anything for letting me borrow Cuyan.
> 
> And many thanks to Shira and Evilkillerpoptarts for general betaing and enabling! 
> 
> I had a story plan at one point. At _this_ point...the characters are pretty much doing what they want. But there is some forward movement!

CWCWCWCWCW 

The Jedi’s meeting with Padme went relatively smoothly, with all their questions and concerns addressed by the end of the day.

The Corellian government had agreed to allow the negotiations to occur in a government conference center. It was the closest they could get to true neutral ground without totally sacrificing security. Mace, Obi-Wan and Plo Koon would represent the Jedi. The Vode would have representatives there to keep negotiations on track and to keep Cody apprised after he returned to Concord Dawn. Cody made it clear that he had been serious when he said he got veto rights. He wouldn’t allow the Jedi to be guilted into accepting unrealistic or unfair demands. A tentative agreement was reached and submitted for approval.

The situation seemed to truly sink in then and become more real.

The Jedi, and to an extent the Vode, were going to negotiate with the Republic and finally stick up for themselves. It had been a long time coming.

CWCWCWCWCW

Cody had a promise to keep. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but he knew it was necessary. 

How efficiently they got the plans made allowed him time to schedule his first appointment with a therapist and have it before he left. The man he selected was willing to do holocall appointments but had a firm rule that the first one had to be in person unless it was physically impossible or there was an emergency. Cody took a steadying breath and walked into the therapist’s office. After checking in for his appointment, he sat down to wait. The admin assured him it would only be a few minutes. He didn’t mind the wait; it gave him more time to settle himself. He knew it wasn’t going to be _easy,_ but it was important. The future he wanted was worth it. 

CWCWCWCWCW

By mid-morning the next day they received confirmation that the Senate committee accepted their plans. Padme departed for Coruscant after midmeal. She had to rendezvous with the rest of the Republic’s negotiation team before meeting them on Corellia. 

“My boys will start surveying the security setup at the hotel first thing tomorrow,” Rex said as they watched Padme’s ship leave. “And they have an appointment with the Corellian Security Minister tomorrow afternoon to see the conference center the Corellians have agreed to let the negotiations use.” 

“Excellent. Make sure they keep you in the loop,” Cody said.

Rex nodded firmly. Torrent Security would not let their Alor down.

“I’ll make sure you know everything they do. You’ll be there for how long?” the blond asked.

“If all goes well, a tenday or so. Bly and Stone will stay as my representatives for the duration. They’ll make sure any concerns we have get addressed. If things aren’t going well…I could be there a while.”

Rex snorted. “Stone won’t turn down a chance to tell a Senator or other Republic rep off now that he doesn’t have to just take their shit.”

“I half expected Fox to volunteer for this just for that alone.” 

CWCWCWCWCW

Cody had one last meeting that afternoon with his entire staff. Wooley and Thire were accompanying him, but Vaughn and Knockout were not so there were things to arrange before he left.

Vaughn’s comm chimed as the meeting wrapped up and he grinned.

“Good news?” Cody asked.

“My order is ready from the bakery down the street. Just have to swing by and pick it up on my way home.”

“Something special planned?”

Vaughn smiled. “Neyo and Bly haven’t had the chance to spend much time together lately with everything going on. Since Bly is going with you, Aayla and I agreed it was important that he and Neyo got a night just the two of them. So, she’s picking up take-out, I’m getting dessert and we’re going to watch and mock a few _terrible_ holos. I’d be in trouble if I forgot dessert!”

Cody snickered. That absolutely sounded like something Vaughn and Aayla would enjoy doing. He didn’t know the _exact_ dynamics between Aayla, Bly, Neyo and Vaughn. He figured it wasn’t his place to. The four were adults and as long as the arrangement wasn’t hurting any of them…it was no one else’s business. The four seemed happy enough; that was all that mattered. 

“Enjoy. Tell Aayla I said hello. Obi-Wan and I are picking Aranar up for the evening, so I best get going before _I’m_ the one in trouble,” Cody said.

Vaughn laughed.

“I will. Have fun!”

CWCWCWCWCW

They enjoyed the quiet of the park near the dorms. Aranar happily chattered about his day, giving them a full narration of the holobook they had read in class. Cody’s heart longed for this to be a normal part of his routine. The soft look in Obi-Wan’s eyes gave him reassurance that his riduur felt the same. 

It was hard to tell the little one they were leaving again and weren’t sure how long they would be gone.

Aranar hugged Cody tight at the news.

“You’ll be safe?” He asked.

“Of course, prud’ika. We’ll be safe,” Cody assured gently. “And we’ll call if things drag on.”

The child nodded against the older clone’s shoulder.

“He should only be gone a few weeks,” Obi-Wan offered, tone soothing.

Aranar looked at him. “What about you?”

The Jedi looked surprised to be asked that.

“Unfortunately, little one, I’m likely to be gone quite a bit longer,” he explained. 

The child pulled away from Cody and took a step closer to Obi-Wan. He hesitated just for a moment. 

The redhead’s heart ached when he realized what Aranar was waiting for. The boy _knew_ Cody welcomed his hugs gladly. But the child didn’t know how _he_ felt about them. Obi-Wan opened his arms. It was all the encouragement Aranar needed.

“You need to be safe too,” the child told him sternly as little arms held on tight. 

“I will be. I promise.”

CWCWCWCW

The next morning was a whirlwind as the two ships prepared to leave. All for making a point, Cody insisted on taking the _Negotiator_ and a cruiser. He would return with the cruiser once he was certain things were on track, leaving the _Negotiator_ for the rest of them. 

He and Obi-Wan dropped their bags in their quarters, then went to check on final preparations for departure.

“Once more unto the breach,” the Jedi murmured.

CWCWCWCW

“We’re going to get this fixed and everything is going to be ok,” Cody said softly.

He pressed a kiss to the top of Obi-Wan’s head. The redhead was tucked into his side as they sat on the couch in the quarters on the _Negotiator_. Obi-Wan had been unusually quiet since they boarded the ship and got underway. Cody didn’t want to see him get lost in his thoughts.

“We have to. I’ve never seen some of my fellow Jedi so _tired._ Peacetime is never supposed to have the Order this _exhausted,_ ” Obi-Wan said irritably. 

“Shhh. I know, cyare. I know. Even if the Senate refuses to be sensible, the Order will be alright. I won’t let this continue,” the dark-haired man assured. “The Republic will be reasonable or the Vode won’t give the Jedi back. It’s really that simple.”

“A couple of the men from Iron came to me at the Temple yesterday, fretting about their Padawan. Cal Kestis is due to be Knighted any time and they were wondering if it would be possible for a few of them to accompany him on missions, when it happens,” the Jedi said with a small, almost sad smile. “They are worried.” 

Cody smiled softly.

“That doesn’t surprise me. The battalions that had Padawans loved them very much. I had to remind more than one that they couldn’t just _kidnap_ their Padawans when we left.”

Obi-Wan shifted closer and curled downwards, resting his head on Cody’s chest.

“I think many of them would have gone willingly. Those who are still Padawans were so excited to be coming here. And many of the young Knights have found excuses to visit,” he said softly. “To be honest, even if an agreement _is_ reached, I think some of the younger Knights will want to stay.” 

“And they’ll be welcome. The war linked us all,” the clone said thoughtfully. “But we chose what to do with those links.”

“We chose well,” Obi-Wan said quietly.

Cody rested his head against his husband’s. 

“Yes, we did.”

CWCWCWCW

The trip to Corellia was long enough that he had another therapy appointment while en route.

His difficulties in letting responsibilities go was something he knew he needed to address so he brought it up. It resulted in a few interesting questions. 

Who would step into the role if something happened to him tomorrow? Had he set his people up to do well without him? Or had he created an untenable situation for someone else to inherit?

Those questions made him realize that he needed to do a better job of long-term planning.

Five years and the idea of planning for something more than the immediate future was still such a novel thing.

CWCWCWCW 

Cody called a meeting with Wooley the next morning to discuss the situation. They settled into chairs in his office with cups of caf and datapads in hand.

“I’m glad you’re being proactive about this,” Wooley admitted bluntly. “I was worried I was going to have to get the rest of Ghost and we were going to have to have a _talk_.” The younger clone just stared back when his words were met with a glare. “If you’re going to be a father, we need to lighten your workload. Planning ahead makes it easier on all of us.”

Cody sighed heavily. “I know that.” 

“I would have preferred you to be willing to be this reasonable when it was just yourself to worry about, but I suppose I can accept this being what finally gets through to you.” 

The disapproval was still clear in his tone, despite the words.

“You realize that you’re more of a nag about this than my husband, right?” Cody pointed out.

Wooley frowned. “That’s just because Obi-Wan’s habits are just as bad or _worse_ than yours. You two are ridiculously perfect for each other that way.”

“I’d say you’re exaggerating but you really aren’t.”

“Oh, I know!” Wooley softened. “I hope you know how excited we all are that you’re going to adopt.”

Cody smiled.

“Once it actually happens and we’ve had some time to settle, we’ll have a party for all of Ghost,” he assured. “Aranar will need to know all of you, but I want to make sure he has time to get comfortable first.”

“Good. There may or may not have been discussions of a visiting schedule covering the first three or so months after you bring him home,” the younger clone said blithely. 

That really didn’t surprise him in the _least._ Ghost was less obnoxiously visible in their chaos than Torrent but that didn’t mean they actually were any less chaotic. 

“You say that like a single party will _stop_ that from happening,” Cody pointed out.

He didn’t buy the innocent look for a second. 

“Now, I believe we had some things to discuss,” Wooley said, switching to professional mode.

“Yes, we did.”

“I had several ideas on this subject already. I’m glad you decided to be reasonable before I had to bring it up,” Wooley said. “I’m sure we’ll come up with more as we go along but having a starting point is good.”

Cody rolled his eyes. Downside to having one of his Ghosts as his Executive Assistant. The other man knew him far too well.

“Let’s hear them.” 

The younger clone grinned.

“These aren’t in order of importance,” he cautioned as he held up his datapad. “We’re only a few months out from the Anniversary and I know for a fact you’ve gotten a dozen messages about it in the last few weeks and we all remember the Menu Debacle.”

Obi-Wan had been a life saver in that incident and had offered to take a more active role in Oya Vode festivity planning if needed as a result. He’d had to step back from preparations this time around though since he was likely to be on Corellia for a while. 

“I honestly thought having a _committee_ would stop all that,” Cody said with a sigh. 

“It should. Problem is the committee is volunteers and there’s no real authority behind being the head of it,” Wooley pointed out. “So, we need to change that. I think it’s good to keep part of the committee volunteers, so we get a good influx of changing ideas. However, part of it should be permanent, including the committee chair. We have vode who are good at food, others who are good at event planning and we _certainly_ have plenty of strategists.” 

That was an underestimate. Any officer had to be good at strategy.

“Had you gotten as far as looking at specific people or were you just considering roles?” Cody asked.

The look he received in return clearly asked, “ _What kind of fool do you take me for_?”

“I have a couple of roles and at least one suggestion for each of them. But we can always put out job descriptions and go through a full interview process if you want more options,” Wooley said evenly. 

Cody wasn’t about to offer Wooley the insult of saying his choices weren’t good enough without even hearing them.

“Ok, tell me.”

“To start, we need a formal public relations department. We have gotten 36 requests for interviews since your little…stunt on Coruscant. You’ve never done many interviews and we’ve always been controlled on the news crews allowed here. But with everything going on, that’s going to have to change. And Vaughn, Knockout and I can’t handle all that by ourselves on top of everything else. So, what I’m proposing is the creation of a department that handles all PR and public events. Part of it would be a small PR group to handle things like interview requests and coordinating whatever interviews or news conferences you agree to. The other part would be a couple of people that would handle events other than OV, while also making up the permanent part of the OV planning committee,” Wooley explained.

That seemed like a great idea. Cody wondered why they hadn’t done it sooner. 

“Logical and absolutely something we should do,” he agreed. “Candidates?”

“I’ve already talked to Bly. He’s willing to head it,” Wooley said. “So, you wouldn’t need to add a council seat, at least for now. He may not want the job forever.”

Bly was a good choice. Reasonable, steady, but perfectly capable of handling chaos. He was still a Shebse after all. And Cody trusted him implicitly, would be willing to leave decisions to Bly that he might have hesitated to leave to others. The Oya Vode anniversary was so important to all of them, that he had been reluctant to step back from it entirely. If someone he trusted so completely was the one actually overseeing it…he could step back and still be assured that it was handled. 

“Excellent. Suggestions for others?”’

“We have some logistics to work out on that. Vaughn would probably move over to the PR team. I figured we could let Bly and Vaughn work out exactly how big that department needs to be and pick their own candidate, or candidates if needed, for the additional staff.”

“Agreed. I trust their judgement. We’ll need to replace Vaugh, unless your plans will reshuffle so much that you and Knockout can handle everything?” 

“Oh no. We’re replacing Vaughn. That we’re probably going to have to do some interviews for,” Wooley admitted. “The rest of this will take some time to get rolling so I wanted to start with these.”

“Fair enough.”

“As for the event planning side. I have a couple of suggestions. To head that department, I recommend Cuyan, former commander of the 18th. He’s a good strategist, takes no osik and wouldn’t hesitate to tell even you to back off if you were interfering,” Wooley said. “But he’s got a soft center under the bristle. So, he can organize chaos, look after his people and make sure the job gets done.”

Cody had only interacted with Cuyan twice, but he didn’t have any reason to dislike the man.

“Ok, I’ll trust your judgement.” 

Wooley smiled.

“Also, for that part of the staff, I recommend Nav. You remember him? Torrent shiny who got lost and decided all of Guard were his friends? He currently has a food vlog called _Gastronagivation_ , but he only travels for it from late fall until mid-spring. Since Oya Vode falls at the end of summer, he’d still be back in plenty of time for final phase prep and can handle correspondence by comm while he’s offworld. He has learned a ton about food in the last few years and would help keep things from getting too repetitive on that front,” Wooley said. 

Of course, Cody remembered Nav. Rex complained for _weeks_ about how much Nav liked Fox and the rest of Guard. It was both hilarious and _cute_ if he was honest.

“Oh, I remember him,” he assured, mouthing twitching as he tried to hold back a grin.

A snort said his assistant caught it anyway.

“My other suggestion for staff is Barrage of Vale. He spent a year each on Naboo, Alderaan and Pantora learning about culture and such things. It gave him an interest in cultural events. He was on the OV committee last year and he is again this year. We’ve talked about wanting to put together other events in addition to OV; he’d be a strong choice.” 

He wasn’t familiar with Barrage, but that could change.

“Done. We can work on contracts for all of them on our way back after we see the negotiations off to a good start,” Cody said.

Wooley frowned and for the first time, hesitated. 

“You’re really sure these negotiations will work?” 

“It works or the Jedi get comfortable on Concord Dawn.”

“You really think the Republic will allow that?”

Cody knew plenty of people had doubts. He appreciated that Wooley was asking these questions in private.

“They truly don’t have much of a choice. The Jedi were nearly worked to the brink during the war and for many that _hasn’t changed_ even though it’s been five years of peace. They are so _tired_. It doesn’t help that it looks like it’s been petty politicians trying to get back at the Jedi. The Republic won’t have much to try to push them with once it becomes clear the Jedi can still help the galaxy without being reliant on the Republic for support.” 

“The Jedi fought and died with us,” Wooley said quietly. “They deserve the peace we’ve had the chance to find.”

“Yes, they do.”

There was a moment of silence before the younger clone visibly shook himself as if to clear his head.

“Oh. Speaking of contracts. We need to add someone who specializes in those to your staff. It’s a bit silly that one of us writes them, then we send it off to Dogma, Jesse, or Obi-Wan to be looked over.”

This was going to be a long meeting. 

CWCWCWCW

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nav is my OC who can be found in this series: [Navigation Attempts](https://archiveofourown.org/series/1816372). This chapter contains the answer to a lingering question for the most recent Nav fic!
> 
> Barrage is also my OC. He has not yet made an appearance in any of my stuff.


End file.
